The Gypsy's Gift
by Mija-Lenron
Summary: Buffy gets a gift from a Gypsy, making her unable to be turned into a vampire. Angelus is back, and he has a few ideas for the slayer and their future. What will he do when he figures out about the Gypsy gift? And wait... he's not the only bad guy?
1. Prologue

**This is the rewrite of the little blurb of a prologue I had at the beginning of chapter 1.**

**Chapter rating: T  
**

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"Madame will see you now."

Buffy looked up as she heard the rustle of the beaded curtain being moved aside. A small, olive-skinned, dark haired woman appeared in the doorway. She gestured for Buffy to stand and held back the beads so Buffy could get through.

"The amount of payment required will be discussed inside."

Buffy nodded to the assistant and stood up, ducking under the beads and into the back room. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust – candles created the only lighting in the room. Buffy inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a few seconds, smiling as the smells of incense and candles spread around her. The room was pretty much what she expected. The location wasn't ideal – a cabin in the middle of a forest, but she supposed it made sense. The candles and incense were givens for a fortuneteller. The beads instead of a door seemed exactly right. The items in the room all looked exotic – almost Arabic, or Indian. A small, round table was in the center of the room, covered by brightly colored fabrics. An older woman sat on the side furthest from Buffy, her hands steepled against her chin.

"You must be Buffy." The woman nodded to the empty chair across from her, watching Buffy as she seated herself. After a long stretch of silence, the woman spoke. "Let me guess. You're here for some help with your love life."

A sarcastic laugh escaped Buffy before she could stop it, and she put her fingers over her lips, nodding. "Sorry. Yeah, I guess you could say that."

The woman's brows raised in slight surprise, and she leaned closer to Buffy. "From your reaction, I'll bet you aren't here for a simple love potion or a lust spell." Buffy shook her head no. "I thought not. Well, this session is going to cost you then. It's the real magic that costs. I should have known you weren't just a tourist. You don't look like one."

"No, I'm a bit familiar with this. I have a friend who's really into Wicca."

"Well, why aren't you asking your Wicca friend for help?" the woman asked, leaning back in her chair, running her fingers over her knuckles.

"She's not a gypsy."

Buffy saw the woman's eyes narrow, and she opened her mouth to explain herself when the woman grabbed Buffy's wrist. She held her wrist tight in one hand, and then raised her other hand above it.

"Hold still, this'll only take a moment."

The woman ran her fingers lightly over Buffy's hand, leaving it immobile and frozen in mid-air. She murmured a few words, and some blue tendrils of light pulled out of the woman's hand and slowly circled Buffy's. The woman closed her eyes, the blue light illuminating her face from below creating a creepy effect. Her eyes moved quickly beneath her eyelids, and her breathing grew labored. Buffy tried to pull her hand back, but she couldn't move it. Suddenly the blue lights disappeared, and the woman's eyes flew open with a gasp.

"Slayer!" she whispered, staring at Buffy with a new look of respect in her eyes. "You're a slayer…"

Buffy slipped her hand in her lap, flexing her fingers to make sure everything was okay. "Born and raised." Well… sort of.

The woman leaned back in her chair, sighing. "So he's back, is he? I am not able to bring back his soul, if that's what you came here for."

"I was hoping there was something more permanent than just putting his soul back. Something that could maybe… keep it there?"

The woman shook her head, and Buffy felt her heart sink. How could she and Angel truly be together if they had to worry about Angelus and his possible reappearance? It wasn't like she could ask Willow to stand guard outside the bedroom as a 'just in case' insurance. Buffy could do without the full physical aspect of the relationship, but she knew that Angel would be overly cautious with her. It would only get worse the more times Angelus was set free.

"The only way to gain a permanent soul for a vampire is to go through the trials. That has to be done of the vampire's free will."

Well, Angelus would never do that.

"There may be something that I can do… It isn't a permanent solution by any means, but it may help."

Buffy leaned forward in her chair, her hands sliding down her legs to grip her knees. "I'm listening."

* * *

"Naomi, come here for a moment."

Madame's assistant pushed back the beads and stepped through the doorway. "Do you need… something?" Naomi asked, pausing because she was a bit distracted by the drops of blood on the table and Madame wrapping up what seemed to be a slit on her hand. The blonde girl had gone.

"Yes. I need you to call someone for me - A Mr. Rupert Giles. There is something that he needs to know…"

Naomi nodded slowly, pulling her phone from her pocket. "That girl didn't hurt you, did she? Are you calling for help? Do you need me to get a doctor?" Naomi didn't do too well with blood.

Madame shook her head, a grave look on her face. "No. No, this is about something else entirely." Madame flexed her fingers slowly, gazing at her wrapped hand strangely. "I've been having a vision in my dreams, Naomi. Something's coming. I haven't been able to put the pieces together until I spoke with that girl. I saw into her mind – into her memories. She's connected."

Madame having visions was nothing new to Naomi, but she had never seen her like this. She looked scared. "What's coming, Madame? What is it?"

Before Madame could open her mouth to answer, a loud, piercing shriek penetrated the quiet air, resonating through the cabin, making the floors and walls tremble with its intensity. Naomi yelped in surprise, jumping backwards against the wall. It was like nothing she had heard before. "Wh-what was that?" she stammered quietly, looking over at Madame.

"It knows," Madame whispered, reaching out to grab the phone from Naomi. Naomi let go of her cell, frozen against the wall.

"It?" Naomi's blood ran cold as she heard rattling from the entrance to the cabin. "It's trying to get in…" she choked out, sliding over towards Madame, vaguely registering the little 'beeps' of numbers being dialed on her cell phone.

"What is it?" Naomi knelt down beside Madame. "What is it?" she asked louder.

"Is this Mr. Giles?" Madame spoke quietly into the phone.

"What is it, Madame?" Naomi shook her employer by the arm, trying to get her attention. A loud bang came from the front door, and Naomi shrank back behind Madame, her eyes widening with panic.

"Mr. Giles, my name is Vadoma. I'm a seer, and I've called to warn you."

Another bang, this time accompanied with splinters and the sound of breaking wood came from the front room. Madame jumped and Naomi screamed, grabbing Madame's arm, trying to get her to explain. "What is it, Madame? What does it want?"

Footsteps started towards them, and a low growling sound made Naomi whimper and shake with fright. "Madame?" she squeaked, tears leaking from her eyes.

"It's coming. It's here now and I don't know how long I have, but you need to know. It's coming, it wants something and it has to do with Buffy. You have to-"

Giles listened in horror as screams filled the phone, Vadoma no longer speaking. He heard the phone drop, and the sound of growling and ripping flesh rang in his ears. He had no doubt that Vadoma was dead. As soon as it came, the noise stopped – and then the phone went dead.

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	2. Chapter 1: Reception

**Chapter 1 rewrite!**

**Chapter rating: T**

**This one is mostly the same as the previous chapter 1, save for a few things (and better writing).  
**

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CRACK

"Mazel Tov!" The glass shattered underneath Xander's foot, and Buffy beamed as Xander took Willow's hands in his, pressing his lips against hers in their very first kiss as husband and wife. Buffy jumped up and clapped for the two of them, as did many other guests. Willow was practically glowing she was so happy, and Buffy wasn't sure she had ever seen Xander smile so much.

Buffy was sitting on Xander's side to try and keep his parents from causing any trouble. They had done quite a bit of grumbling in the service about how they couldn't understand what anyone was saying, and that Willow should've just had a regular wedding instead of her Jewish 'whatever.' Buffy just turned around, gave them a sharp look, and they kept relatively quiet after that.

The wedding was in a beautiful park with a small country club on the outskirts of Sunnydale, and Xander and Willow were standing under a canopy of sorts called a chuppah. Xander and Willow hadn't been able to see each other all week because of a Jewish tradition, so it made Xander and Willow's expressions when they first saw each other at the ceremony all the more priceless.

Xander looked so adorable in his Yakama, Buffy made sure to take tons of pictures – without flash of course. He was very handsome in his tuxedo, and Willow looked absolutely stunning in her white dress. The two of them against the sunset was simply breathtaking.

Willow and Xander were taken inside the country club for something Willow called 'Yichud,' one of the final parts of the ceremony. Buffy wasn't quite sure what it meant, but she was happy to escort everyone to the other side of the building and into the reception room.

Xander and Willow burst through the doors soon after, all smiles, and Buffy ran up to them excitedly. "I'm so happy for you two!" She gave each of them a big hug, twirling her finger through one of Willow's spiral curls with a grin. "The wedding was absolutely beautiful. And you guys _look_ beautiful!" Buffy felt like she was about to cry. All she could think about were the stories Willow told her about crayons breaking, barbies, and how Willow used to pine after Xander every day in high school. They had all changed so much, and now they were getting married. "Everything's so beautiful." She could feel her eyes start to water.

"Aw, Buffy, don't cry! You know that when people cry I start crying, and my makeup cost a lot of money so I can't cry right now!" Willow exclaimed, pulling Buffy into another hug. The two laughed and Buffy stepped back to let the two of them greet some more guests.

Giles was there, of course, as was Tara, a wiccan friend of Willow's, some construction buddies of Xander's, Xander and Willow's families (both of them had rather small families), and some more of Xander and Willow's friends - all in all… about forty guests. Dawn unfortunately had come down with the flu, and so she was at home, waiting for Buffy to come back and show her tons of pictures. Giles was already taking advantage of the open bar, drinking his second scotch. He had to deal with being the mediator between Xander and Willow for the past week, and he had offered to plan the reception as one of his wedding presents. He had had a pretty stressful couple of months. He had been acting particularly strange ever since Buffy got back from her visit with the fortuneteller a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like he had something to tell Buffy, but whenever she'd try and ask him, something from the wedding would come up and they'd soon be busy with reception details.

Buffy walked up to Giles as Xander and Willow's families were giving them their congratulations. "How much do you plan on drinking?"

"As much as it takes to get my head to stop pounding," Giles said simply, taking another swallow.

"The reception looks great, Giles," Buffy said, smiling, sitting on a bar stool next to him.

Giles turned, looking around the room with a nod. "I did do a pretty good job of it, didn't I?" The room did look great. There were loads of flowers surrounding it, large windows lined the walls showing the starry night sky, and everyone had been seated accordingly. Giles helped with the seating arrangements as well.

"Yeah. It looks beautiful in here."

Wiping a bit of scotch from his mouth, Giles leaned back against the bar. "I'll consider it a success at the end of the night, when it's over and no one has come to crash or mess it all up. Considering we're on a Hellmouth, it's very possible."

Buffy smacked Giles on the arm sharply, sticking her finger in his face. "If someone _does _come, you know I'm going to blame you. You can't just say things like that and expect something _not_ to happen! Don't you know anything?"

Giles just blinked at her, surprised. "Buffy, that's simply preposterous. How could a statement like that have anything to do with-" Giles trailed off, his eyes widening, staring at something behind Buffy. "Oh dear…"

Buffy turned just in time to see the doors burst open, revealing none other than Angelus. He had the same dark look on his face Buffy remembered from the very first time she saw him a few years ago. His leather duster settled around his ankles as the door closed. Even though she had been preparing for him to show up, Buffy's jaw dropped in surprise the moment she saw him. She was still stunned by how much he looked like Angel – that resemblance never failed to hurt her. Buffy's eyes darted to Willow and Xander, seeing the two of them looking at Buffy, both of them looking pretty confused.

Buffy hadn't told Willow, Xander, Dawn, or Giles about Angel losing his soul. She had hoped that Xander and Willow would be gone and on their honeymoon by the time Angelus showed up. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't exactly surprised he picked now. He had always liked a big entrance.

"Gosh, nice decorations!" Angelus exclaimed, turning Buffy's attention to him once more. He sauntered into the room like he owned the place, shoving the table with the wine and champagne glasses out of his way as he grabbed a chair. Buffy winced as the glasses shattered on the ground, Angelus' face changing to an exaggerated expression of horror before throwing himself into the chair, slamming his boots down on the table in front of them. Mud spattered across the white tablecloth, and Buffy grit her teeth angrily. He looked so gleeful sitting in that chair, his fingers laced behind his head.

"Buffy…"

Buffy turned to see Xander behind her. "What is going on?" he asked. Buffy could tell by the way he was looking at Angelus that he knew it wasn't Angel. Angel would never do anything like this. Willow was trying to get all of the other guests to stay on the other side of the room. Angelus was between them and the door.

"Don't worry Xander, I'll take care of this. Go help Willow." Buffy knew Xander wanted to stake Angelus now for ruining his reception, but Xander also knew that would just get himself killed. Xander nodded angrily, going to join Willow.

"Why are you here?" Buffy asked, turning back to Angelus. She jumped slightly as he shot out of his chair, scowling because she knew that was meant to startle her.

"Because lover," he started, spreading his arms wide, "at another party there wouldn't be you." Angelus smiled beatifically and moved his gaze behind Buffy, his finger moving up and down in the air. He was counting the guests. "Eenie, meanie, miney, moe… which to eat first…" he glanced back at Buffy, his hand still in mid-air, "You know, I really wanted to turn you first, and then have you eat them all."

"Trust me, you wouldn't get the chance. You'd be dust the moment you tried to stick your fangs in my neck. If you touch any of them, I'll kill you." She glared at him, standing between him and the rest of the reception guests. He was between them and the way out, and Buffy was between him and his potential snacks. "Leave," Buffy ordered.

Angelus just laughed, shrugging off his duster and flinging it onto a chair in direct violation of her order. "Is that really a way to treat a guest? It's been so long, I thought you'd have at least given me a kiss. Where are your manners? Didn't you miss me, Buff?"

She just stared at him in response, knowing that he already knew her answer.

"I'm not going anywhere, Buff. Not without taking you, or one of your little scoobies with me. How about Ripper, lover? You always hated the way he stood between us." Angelus sneered at Giles, walking slowly towards Buffy and the people on the other side of the room. "I can smell the alcohol on you, Ripper. It gives the blood tang, you know."

Angelus was close enough to touch now, and Buffy braced herself for a fight. His arm shot out and Buffy made a move to block, but he wasn't going for a blow. His arm wound around her waist and he dragged Buffy up against every hard, lean curve of his body. His other arm slithered up her back, his hand winding itself in her hair, pulling her head back. Buffy wriggled in his grip as Angelus leaned over, his lips brushing against her ear. "You smell good, Buff," he growled, taking her earlobe in his mouth and rolling it lightly between his teeth.

Buffy glanced back to Willow and Xander, finding everyone's eyes glued to the two of them. "Think about it, Buff. You'd never have to worry about anything ever again. You could be with your precious Angel, in his arms every night, rise with him, hunt with him…" His hand on her waist slid down to cup and rub her thigh, making the blood rush to her face, partly from embarrassment, and partly because he was touching her in exactly the right spots… "You could finally have what your little band of scoobies denies you." He kissed her neck lightly. "Me." He began nuzzling and nipping Buffy's neck and she tensed, waiting for the feel of his fangs – but it never came. Angelus pulled her head back and pressed his lips against hers, the kiss hard enough to draw blood.

Buffy managed to pull her arms free of his grip and pulled away from him, his hand leaving her hair as she jerked back. "I wouldn't be with Angel, I'd be with you, and you should know that's something I'd never even consider. You can't sire me. I would never become a monster like you," she said icily, wiping her lips in an effort to try and get rid of the kiss.

Buffy watched as his lips turned upwards into a sneer. "Don't you get it, lover? I am Angel. You think it's the soul you fell in love with, but he's nothing without me. He's an imposter."

She kept her gaze on Angelus even, not faltering for a moment. "Then I fell in love with the imposter."

He sighed, obviously bored with trying to convince Buffy. His eyes lit up as they landed on someone. Buffy followed his gaze to Willow. "Willow, baby! I've missed you! Why don't you come over here and give me a hug?" Buffy watched as Angelus gave Willow his best Angel smile, and she was surprised at how real it looked. Save for that evil glint in his eyes, he looked exactly like Angel.

"You aren't Angel, no matter how much you pretend to be. I'm not stupid," Willow said, Xander holding her close to himself.

A loud roar came from Angelus, his Angel like features morphing into his game face. Shrieks came from the guests, and Xander hurriedly tried to stop the new panic that was setting in. Angelus flung a table to the side, china plates and glasses falling and shattering on the floor. "How many times do we need to go over this? I _am_ Angel, at last!"

Angelus turned to Buffy once more, his game face morphing back to his more human one, an expression of strange agony playing on his features. "I can't stand it. Look what you've done to me!" he snarled, storming over to his chair and grabbing his duster. He whirled on her and glared at Buffy with a hate she hadn't seen before. It was a loathing that ran deeper than malice, than anger… "If I can't have you Buff, then by God I'll burn your world down," he growled.

Buffy's breath hitched at the soft fury of his voice. She was almost scared. "Don't you dare," she warned, swallowing nervously, her voice only slightly shaky. Score for keeping her strength up.

"Tell me, lover…" he said slowly, drawing out the words, his voice lower than normal. "Just say the words, and I'll let your friends live."

Buffy wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Was it please? Did he want her to beg for him to leave? He was coming closer now. She didn't want to start fighting unless she had to – people could get hurt. There were way too many people in here. If Buffy started something, Angelus could finish it with one of them – any of them. All it would take was one hard blow to wind Buffy, or to get her out of the way, and then he'd go at them. "What is it that you want me to say?" she asked, looking up at him as he stopped in front of her. He ran his hand along her blonde hair, smoothing it and tucking it behind her ear, his fingers brushing against the nape of her neck. Buffy shuddered, partly from revulsion, and partly from the familiarity of it.

"That you want me, lover. I want you to tell me, in front of your little White Hat do-gooders, that you want me." His thumb was going in circles along her collarbone, causing goosebumps to dance along her skin. If the two of them were alone, Buffy would refuse flat out. But they weren't alone, and Buffy's friend's lives were at stake. This was more than pride. She took a breath, and said what he wanted to hear, "I want you." She kept her voice flat, quiet, and devoid of emotion.

A tsk came from Angelus, and he turned to face the reception guests. "I don't think that was very convincing. I didn't believe her, did you?" He turned back to Buffy and stared down at her with those dark brown eyes of his. Buffy searched them, finding no tenderness, no affection, and no love. What she saw in them was dark and twisted, completely the opposite of Angel. They were the same eyes she looked into when she first met Angelus, only this time… there was something else in them as well.

He pulled Buffy to him, tracing the outline of her lips with his finger. "You can do better than that, Buff." Buffy clenched her fist, barely managing to stay still. "Here, let me help." Buffy inhaled sharply as his lips pressed against hers once again, but this was not like before. At first, it was demanding and harsh, just as the first one. But after a few moments, it changed. It became tender, almost loving… His lips were soft against hers, his hands gentle as they cradled her head. She knew this… This was exactly how Angel used to kiss her. This was exactly how Angel used to touch her. He was literally taking her breath away. Buffy found herself leaning into him, even though she knew it wasn't real. He wasn't Angel, but she couldn't help herself. She missed him so much, and if she closed her eyes…

Then he pulled away, looking at her, the darkness she had seen only moments before almost all disappeared. His face… It was now almost a perfect replica of Angel. "Tell me, Buffy…" he murmured.

His voice even sounded like Angel… Buffy blinked back the tears that were threatening to come, and she tried to compose herself. She took a quick glance over to Willow and Xander, wincing at the expressions on their faces. Xander looked furious, and Willow looked horrified. Buffy knew that unless she said it convincingly, Angelus wouldn't leave. So she parted her lips, looked up at the monster pretending to be her Angel, and said what he wanted to hear. "I want you…" she said softly, forcing herself to keep her eyes on his.

There was a long pause – it seemed like hours, and then Angelus' lips turned upwards in a cruel sneer. He grabbed her and yanked her to him, his lips crashing down against hers. Buffy gasped in surprise, and he took advantage of it to invade her mouth, erasing all thoughts that he could be kind and gentle with a bruising attack on her mouth. He ended the kiss by lightly kissing the corner of her lips - Buffy frozen in his arms - and then let her go. "That wasn't so hard, was it lover?"

He began backing away, and Buffy felt her stomach twist painfully into knots. She felt like she was going to be sick, scream, and cry all at the same time. Her lower lip started trembling but she forced it still.

"Well, it has been fun children, but I'm afraid I have to run now that we've cleared the air a little."

Angelus turned back to Buffy, smiled, and blew her a kiss. Buffy flinched and he laughed. "I'll see you soon, my love." He pulled the duster on over his broad shoulders and walked out the door.

Buffy stood there, staring after him, gritting her teeth, trying hard to keep herself together. She needed to keep it together. It scared her that he could manipulate her so easily. He had perfected the Angel act, and he could use that against her to make her life a living hell.

Buffy heard Willow ushering everyone out, and Buffy noticed that Willow was avoiding Buffy's gaze. Buffy saw Xander in the corner of the room, talking to someone. He seemed really agitated, but that was to be expected. He was speaking to some woman, a pretty woman, who looked strangely like the assistant at the fortuneteller's cabin. The woman glanced over in Buffy's direction, locking eyes with her. It was definitely the fortuneteller's assistant. How did she and Xander know each other? Xander saw that Buffy was watching and quickly pulled the woman away from the wall and into another room.

What was that about?

"Buffy, are you all right?" It was Giles. Buffy turned to him and gave him a small smile.

"Absolutely." He didn't believe her. Well, she wasn't fine, not by a long shot, but she couldn't talk about that now. Buffy grabbed a trashcan and began picking up the glass that littered the floor. Giles picked up a second trashcan to help her.

"You know this is your fault," Buffy said softly, attempting a joke.

"Yeah… Sorry, Buffy. I really am sorry."

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	3. Chapter 2: Confrontations

**Chapter 2 rewrite!**

**Chapter rating: T**

**This chapter's also more or less the same as the previous one, save for a few things.  
**

* * *

"Buffy?"

Buffy groaned and turned over in her bed, pulling the covers over her head and snuggling Mr. Gordo tighter to her chest.

"Buffy, get up." Someone was shaking her.

"Go 'way…" Buffy grumbled, jerking her shoulder to try and get the person to leave. "s' not time to wake up yet…"

"Buffy, it's almost dinner time, and Xander's here. He wants to talk to you before he and Willow take off."

"…dinner time?" Buffy slowly pulled the covers away from her face, blinking to clear her eyes. It was already dark outside. Wow. How long had she slept? She looked over at Dawn, sitting on the edge of her bed, looking very concerned. "Wow… How long did I sleep?"

"Well, I'm not sure when you got home exactly, but I went to sleep around two in the morning. Buffy, are you feeling okay?"

Buffy sat up slowly, running a hand through her mess of hair. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Last night was just… tiring. You know, with the reception and everything. I stayed behind to clean up after. How are _you_ feeling, Dawn? You're the one with the fever." Buffy leaned forward, pressing the back of her hand against Dawn's forehead. "Hm, you still feel hot. Do you want me to make you some soup or something?"

Dawn shook her head, standing up from Buffy's bed. "No, I'm okay. I made some Ramen earlier. But Xander's been waiting downstairs for you for about ten minutes, so…"

"Right! Xander!" Buffy pushed off the covers and quickly ran a brush through her hair, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. It was just Xander. Buffy hadn't even patrolled last night - she had been so exhausted. She helped Giles, Willow, and Xander clean up last night, but not much conversation was exchanged. She had left around three in the morning, and finally went to sleep when the sun started coming up. She had been sleeping for almost thirteen hours! Buffy wasn't sure she had ever slept that long before in her life, excluding time she had been sick.

She had tried to keep images from the reception out of her head, but she ended up looking at pictures of Angel for hours. She had herself a good cry, images of how Angel could have lost his soul running through her mind on a loop. Buffy was extremely glad she had been warned that Angelus was back – Wesley had called to warn her. She'd have to call and ask him for details later about how it happened so she could stop worrying about it.

"I expect you to show me pictures later, Buffy!" Dawn called as Buffy was running down the stairs.

"You got it!" Buffy skidded to a slightly un-graceful stop at the bottom of the stairs, almost bumping into Xander as he stepped out of the dining room.

"Hey! How are you doi-" Buffy cut off in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the expression on his face. He looked really angry. He had that really tight look on his face that he got when he was trying to keep his anger in check. His jaw was tight from gritting his teeth, his lips were pursed, his cheeks were redder than normal, and his eyes were slightly squinted. It was like he was trying to keep himself from exploding.

"Hi, Xander…" Buffy said slowly, unsure of what to do. She knew why he was mad, obviously, but she didn't know how to handle it.

"Buffy," he said, giving her a slight nod in greeting.

They stood like that, silent, for a few moments, before-

"Buffy, how could you do that? How could you fucking kiss that monster? How could you let him manipulate you like that? I thought you were stronger than this! You practically melted in his arms, and you expect me to be okay with that? No way in _hell_ am I okay with that. Are you fucking him, Buffy? Is that what's going on?"

"No!" Buffy yelled, staring at him in complete disbelief. "You really think that little of me, Xander?"

"What else am I supposed to think? You let him run his hands all over you, and you knew who he was. You knew that wasn't Angel right when he walked through the doors, and you couldn't be bothered to warn your friends. Is he so good in the sack that you kept it a secret?"

She could not believe what was coming out of Xander's mouth. How could he believe that she would do something like that? She felt smaller and smaller as he yelled at her, wanting to curl up into a ball and disappear. "I am not doing anything with him! I would never! I didn't tell you because I hoped he wouldn't show up until you and Willow left, so I could take care of it without making you guys worry, okay?"

Buffy stepped backwards and sat down on the steps, putting her head in her hands. He certainly knew how to bring on the guilt. Buffy knew he deserved an explanation, and she probably should have talked to him about it last night, but she just couldn't bring herself to talk about it at all. "I'm sorry, Xander… I guess I'm not as strong as you thought. He just…" She looked up at him, and the guilt must have shown on her face because his angry expression faltered. "He touched me like Angel. He kissed me like he was Angel, like he was in love with me… He even went as far as to put that love into his eyes when he looked at me. I couldn't help it… I just wanted that love so badly, Xander… I miss him so much." She looked away from him, ashamed. He had every right to be angry with her, but she had no idea how he could think that she had been keeping Angelus a secret because she was having _sex_ with him. That went above and beyond crossing the line.

She heard Xander sigh, and saw him walk over to the steps out of the corner of her eye. He sat down next to her, and they were silent again. Buffy had said all that she could. If he still didn't understand, there wasn't anything else she could say to get him to forgive her for what happened.

"I trust you, Buffy."

Buffy exhaled, relieved, risking a glance over to him. He was looking down, his hands clasped together, running his thumb over the other in a nervous habit. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have assumed… I love you, Buffy. You're my best friend, and I should know that you would never do something like that."

He looked up at her and gave her an apologetic smile. Buffy nodded, not quite sure if she could return the smile after everything he yelled at her. She was glad he understood, but she wasn't exactly in a fantastic mood with those assumptions added to her already pretty full plate of guilt.

"Look, I know you aren't very happy with me right now… But if you want me and Willow to stay, we can stay. If you need help with this, we can put off the Honeymoon a few weeks until this is taken care of. You don't have to face him alone."

She appreciated the gesture, but she definitely did not want them to stay. The further away they were from all this, the better. "No, you should go, Xander. You and Willow should go to Hawaii and have an amazing time. You guys deserve this. I'd feel better knowing you guys were safe anyway."

"Okay. Just be careful, all right?" Xander put a hand on Buffy's knee, running his thumb over her kneecap in what she supposed was a way of comforting her. "Oh, and Willow gave me something for you." Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "This is the spell for returning Angel's soul. It has the ingredients you'll need and the incantation. If you need help with it, you should talk to Tara. Willow wrote down her number on here too, and since Tara was at the reception, she knows what's going on."

Right, the incantation… Buffy took it from Xander, turning it around in her hands. "Thanks." Buffy doing a spell… Buffy doing a spell of this magnitude… Buffy doing a spell of this magnitude by _herself_… Yeah, Buffy would definitely be calling Tara. Buffy and magic didn't go to well together. She had only met Tara a few times, but she seemed nice enough. She had gotten the impression the last time she saw her (besides at the wedding and wedding reception) that Willow and Tara were a bit more than just friends… But then Willow and Xander became engaged, and Buffy tossed that thought out the window. Maybe she had just imagined it.

"Tell Willow thanks for me," Buffy said as Xander was heading towards the door. "And have a good time the next couple of weeks."

"I will. Be safe, Buffy." Xander walked over to her and gave her a tight hug before opening the door to leave.

"Oh, Xander," Buffy called, stopping him. "How do you know that girl you were talking to at the reception?" Well that was not vague at all.

"What girl? I talked to several people."

"The brunette girl that you pulled into another room. She works for someone I know. I actually just saw her a couple of weeks ago."

Buffy saw Xander visibly tense up. He glanced back at her, hesitating slightly. "Oh um... she's the girlfriend of one of the guys I work with. But uh, I've got to get back to Willow. I'll see you later, Buffy." Before Buffy could ask him anything else, he was gone.

That was weird. There was definitely something Xander was trying to hide... Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about Willow and Xander's safety for the next week or so. That helped. Buffy stood, walking upstairs to get ready. It was dark outside, and she needed to let out some of her anger. She needed to kill something.

"You ready to show me some pictures, Buffy?" Dawn asked, poking her head out of her room as Buffy walked down the hallway.

"I'm going out to patrol, but I can give you the camera and you can look at them yourself. Just make sure to wash your hands, I don't want your germs."

Dawn grinned and coughed on her hands, reaching out for Buffy. "Ick!" Buffy jumped back, making a face. "You touch me, and there'll be no pictures for you."

Dawn quickly stuffed her hands in her pockets and smiled innocently. "Hands to myself."

Buffy smiled, shaking her head. Same old Dawn, even when she had the flu. Those meds must be working well. Buffy rummaged in her purse for her camera, tossing it to Dawn who was standing in Buffy's doorway. "Remember, wash your hands!"

"Yeah, yeah," Dawn said back, already walking back to her room.

Buffy changed into a more suitable outfit for slaying vampires, slipped a stake into her jacket pocket as well as a vial of holy water (just in case) and left. She needed that rush she got from slaying. Buffy needed a stress outlet, and needed to let out her anger from Xander's assumptions and from the night before. Slaying was the best solution.

She just hoped that a _certain_ vampire wouldn't be out prowling the town.

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	4. Chapter 3: Seduction

**Chapter 3+4 rewrite**

**Chapter rating: T (ish...)**

**This is pretty much exactly the same as the former chapters, just more detail and a few changed lines and actions.  
**

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"Hello, lover."

Buffy whirled around, pulling her stake from her pocket and raising it just as her eyes met his. Of course Angelus would be here. Of all the places for him to be, it would be a crypt. She had wished that he wouldn't be in the graveyard at all, but since when had anyone granted her any of her wishes? Now she'd have to deal with him, and she really didn't want to. "I'm _hardly_ your lover," Buffy said coolly, tightening her grip on the stake. If he attacked, she'd defend herself. She needed to call Tara as soon as she got home so that she could bring Angel's soul back as soon as possible. Buffy didn't want to have to interact with Angelus any more than she had to.

"Oh, but you are. I could hear the truth in your words back at your little scoob reception. You want me, Summers." He leered at her, stepping out of the shadows of the crypt. Buffy's heart sped up, and she swallowed nervously. The fight or flight reflex was on overdrive, but she didn't want to do either. She didn't want to fight him, because she was worried she'd end up killing him, and she didn't want to run, because she didn't want to seem like a coward. So, she just stood there, watching as he crept closer and closer, that same dark gleam in his eyes making her more nervous than ever. "How is the happy couple, anyway? Did Xander pay you a visit before you left to patrol? Tell me, just how angry was he? He's always been jealous, so I know he had to have had _quite_ the temper."

"Oh, he was definitely angry, but he was angry that you manipulated me. He wasn't jealous of you," Buffy hissed. She was glad that he was bringing up topics that would make her angry. Anger made things easier. She understood anger, she was used to anger – she wasn't used to the guilt, humiliation, and loneliness that he made her feel last night.

"Are you sure about that?" he crooned, taking a couple more steps towards her.

He was now getting a little too close for Buffy's liking, but that had always been his game – to torment her, to make her uncomfortable, and he was damn good at it. "I'm very sure." Buffy's grip was so tight around her stake that it was getting painful. He was making her so tense. "As much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I didn't come here to chat with you." He was still coming closer. He was only a few feet away now.

"Oh yes, you came to do your slayer duty and kill some vampires. Well then… let's dance, lover. Assuming you can remember all the steps." With that, his foot shot up in the air and knocked Buffy's stake out of her hand, making her gasp in surprise.

Buffy took a step back, her eyes raking the floor for the stake. It was behind him, halfway rolled under a casket. Fantastic. "I'm sure I can," Buffy responded, looking back up at him. If he wanted to fight, fine. She'd just have to keep herself in check. "I would be more worried about myself if I were you, what with you being so _old_ and all." Ah, there it was. Her puns and her taunts would help. Plus, if Angelus could shoot mean comments at her, there was no reason why she couldn't shoot some back. She had been looking to find a release for her stress and anger – why not use Angelus to get rid of them? He was the cause, anyway. She could leave him bloodied and beaten, talk to Tara about the spell tomorrow, and bring back his soul before they had a chance to run into each other again. She would have her Angel back, and she could help him heal.

Buffy pulled her arms up to her chest and slammed her foot into his stomach. She felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as he staggered backwards, and she smiled. This was good. This was familiar. Then he started laughing, and her smile shrank. She had forgotten that Angelus was a bit of a masochist. His normal human-like features shifted into his demon visage, and he grinned. "Now lover, as I recall, you've had no complaints regarding my stamina."

Her eyes narrowed, and she grit her teeth. Of course he would bring up her time with Angel. He wanted to torment her; that was why he was here. He wanted to make her hurt in the worst way possible, and she hurt the worst when he mentioned or acted like Angel. "In fact, you couldn't keep your hands off of me, could you Buff?"

Buffy could feel herself seething – her blood felt like it was literally boiling. The simple moment of distraction was enough of an opening for him. Buffy had no time to duck before his fist met her face, and his foot matched her kick to his chest. Buffy's head snapped to the side at the first blow, and she almost fell over at the second. She recovered quickly enough. "As _I_ recall, it wasn't you who I "couldn't keep my hands off of.""

His laugh echoed through the crypt, and it made Buffy's blood run cold. God, she hated that laugh. "We've been over this before. You think I wasn't there, lover?" His voice had changed. It was velvet smooth – carnal. "You think it was _Angel_ who bit you that night? I'm the one who drove the broody bastard to do it. Every time he repressed the urge to feed, it was _me_ who suffered. Still," he said, moving closer and closer to Buffy, "I find it best not to dwell on the past, especially with the future we have. Come on, what do you say? Think we can make it work?"

His fingers lightly caressed her cheek – a mockery of Angel's touch. The touch was the same, but the eyes were completely Angelus. He looked at Buffy hungrily, bloodlust hot in his gaze. The revulsion of the idea, though she knew he was just fooling with her, was obvious on her face. His touch was making her nauseous. She didn't want to give him the chance to manipulate her emotions like he did last night. "No way in hell." Buffy said, pulling her arm back for a punch.

As fast as Buffy was, before her arm even got close to his face he grabbed her fist in his hand and gripped a handful of her hair in another. Buffy cried out in pain as he pulled her hair, prying her head to the side, exposing her neck. Her free hand clasped over his, trying to pull his fingers from her hair. "Well, I suppose we could just skip the formalities altogether," Angelus said, grinning, his tongue running over his fangs. Buffy winced as his grip on her fist tightened. Her fingernails dug into the palm of her hand as she jerked and brought it down from his. Her second free hand went up to join the first, struggling to pull herself free. "I think we're suffering from a communication problem myself." His face was only inches away from hers now. Buffy pulled harder at his hand, his grip forcing her head even further down and to the side as his grip grew even tighter. "Let's clear the air."

Then, he kissed her. Buffy's eyes widened and she froze, expecting the same kind of show that he gave her last night. She was sorely mistaken. This kiss was nothing like Angel's. This kiss embodied Angelus more than anything she'd ever seen or felt. The kiss had the driving hunger of the demon with his lust behind it. It was bruising – aggressive. It was like nothing she had experienced before. The sheer need of it left Buffy breathless. It was dizzying.

Angelus backed the two of them up until Buffy was pressed flush against the crypt wall, and he was pressed against her. She could feel the hardness of his muscles against her breasts; he was making it even harder for her to breathe. His left hand left her hair and moved down to her shoulder, squeezing the muscles between it and her neck, loosening some of the tension that lay there. Buffy leaned in to him a bit before she could stop herself; the hunger of his kiss was intoxicating. She realized what she was doing and quickly jerked her head to the side, ending the kiss. She shoved him backwards, kicking him to get him even further away from her. "Why the _hell_ did you do that?" Buffy hissed, wiping at her lips angrily. More importantly… why the hell had she started to kiss him back?

"You always knew this was the natural conclusion for us, lover. The proof was in your kiss." Angelus paused, giving more weight to whatever was coming next. "You want me."

As much as she wanted to deny it, he was right. The proof was in the kiss. For some reason, she had kissed him back, and she couldn't blame it on his manipulation tactics this time. He hadn't been acting like Angel in any way. He had been purely himself, and Buffy had responded to it. She felt sick. She felt like she had betrayed Angel.

"Come on, Buff. I told you you'd want it. One night with Angel's spoiled you for anyone else. You feel it, don't you?" He closed the space between them once again, and ran his hands over her arms as he started circling her, and then his touch disappeared. "You can't kill me, Buff. You wanna know why?"

Buffy turned to keep him in eyesight, and almost jerked back as he leaned in close to her. "Because you don't want to." His breath was hot against her ear, and Buffy shuddered involuntarily.

Well, of course she didn't want to. She didn't want to kill him because that would mean she would also be killing Angel, and she had already done that once. Once was more than enough. No one should have to go through what she went through after that, and she was not going to do that to herself again. That was why she needed to do the spell as soon as possible, before something happened that forced her hand.

"Nothing to say, Slayer?"

He had backed off a bit, giving Buffy her personal space. The back and forth he was instigating was making her feel on edge.

"You know what I think, Buff?"

"I'm sure I don't," she responded evenly.

"I think you crave the darkness. All that slayer instinct, and that desire to hunt and kill… Where do you think the roots of that lie, huh?" He was advancing on her – again. Buffy started backing away from him. Not because she was scared, but because she'd had enough of him being close to her. Unfortunately, the crypt was small. He was backing her into a wall. She could stay and fall prey to whatever he had planned, or she could make a break for it and run outside where there was plenty of open air and no walls for Angelus to trap her.

"I don't kill demons and vampires because it's fun, Angelus." Okay, so that was true most of the time… "I do it because it's my job, because I have the responsibility to do it, and because innocent people will get hurt if I don't." That was true. She just happened to leave out the part about her killing them as stress relievers... and killing them to get the adrenaline rush…

"It's a fine line, lover." Buffy's back hit the wall, and she glanced at the door. Suddenly, he was up against her, every line of his body pressed against hers, his hands on either of her head. Shit. Even though his body didn't have any heat to it, she was feeling overheated - claustrophobic. Her space had been invaded too many times. "You still kill, Buff. Just like me." His lips grazed against her delicate earlobe, and Buffy swallowed a gasp.

"You say that you don't enjoy it, Buff, but we both know that isn't true. I've seen you after a fight, lover. I've watched you, and I know you find it satisfying."

Even though he knew the truth, Buffy couldn't bring herself to admit it out loud. "I do find it satisfying," Buffy murmured, clearing her throat to get her voice stronger. "I find it satisfying because I know that's one demon less out there, that there're people I've saved by killing that one-" Buffy cut off mid-sentence as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. She felt something grow harder against her hip, and Buffy couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" she yelled, squirming in his grasp, pulling herself away from him. She needed to get out. It felt like the air in the crypt was pressing down on her, and she couldn't breathe. She didn't want to seem like a coward, but if it were a choice between that and where this little scene was heading, she'd take the coward label.

"You never did complain when I touched you before, lover." She watched as his eyes moved towards the crypt door, and then back to her. He knew. "Running away, Buff? Not like you."

Buffy jerked her head to the side to get some hair from her face, glaring at him, clenching and unclenching her fists. "These mind games are getting old, Angelus. Let's just stop the chitchat and get to the fighting. I know you're itching to hurt me just a little, and I sure as hell want to wipe that smirk off your face."

"Sure, lover." He took a step towards her. "But not in here." Suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm in an iron grip. Buffy winced, knowing there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow. He dragged her towards the door and then slammed his foot into her back, sending her sprawling on the grass of the cemetery outside of the crypt. "What's the point of having a good fight when there's no elbow room?"

So he had been thinking what Buffy had been thinking. The crypt was way too small for a good fight. Buffy pushed herself up off of the ground, ignoring the pain in her back. She looked up to see Angelus standing tall and proud on a tombstone, leering down at her with a sensual smirk. "Come on, Buffy, huh? Come and get it."

His stare made her feel dirty. She stood, slightly shaky on her feet, and brushed some dirt and grass from her clothes. "Well… if you insist," she said with a smile, her leg shooting out and knocking his legs out from under him. Somehow, instead of falling in a heap to the ground, he landed gracefully on his haunches, rising up to his full height without a single stumble. Damn him. In her anger, Buffy reared her fist back and smashed it into the side of his jaw. Watching his head jerk to the side and a few droplets of blood spray out brought Buffy's smile back in an instant.

Angelus turned his head back towards her slowly, a line of blood trailing from his lower lip to underneath his chin. "That's my girl," he said with a smirk. Buffy braced herself for a blow, ready to block, when his hand shot out and his fingers closed around her windpipe. Buffy's eyes widened, feeling the pressure of his hand push against her throat. She could feel her heartbeat underneath his hand, and struggled to breathe as he pushed even tighter. She clasped her hands around his, trying to pry his fingers off. His grip was tight enough that she couldn't suck in any air. His eyes darkened and he leaned towards her, brushing his cheek against his. She felt him inhale deeply against her, with air that she desperately needed to stay alive, air that he was depriving her of, and air that he didn't normally breathe, and she struggled harder in his grip. Her vision started to fade in her peripherals and along the edges, and a few spots began to appear. Buffy did not want to pass out, she couldn't pass out! Her lungs felt like they were about to burst with lack of air. Her thoughts began to get fuzzy and muddled. She clawed and scratched at his hands, arms, and his body, fiercely trying to get free, when Angelus let her go.

Buffy staggered backwards, coughing, running her hands over her sore neck. "That was cheap," Buffy choked out, catching her breath. She put a hand on a tombstone, steadying herself as her vision and mind cleared. It hurt to inhale.

"Newsflash lover, I'm not very nice."

"Yeah well…" Buffy straightened and took a deep breath, hiding a wince at the pain in her chest. "Neither am I." When her fist connected sharply with his nose, Buffy felt better. She saw blood trailing down from between his hands that were clutching at his nose. Maybe she had broken something. It hurt a little to see him in pain, since his face was identical to the man that she loved, but she pushed that feeling aside. This was Angelus, not Angel. She couldn't afford to think of Angel right now.

His hands, streaked with blood, dropped to his sides and a loud, angry roar erupted from his throat. Before Buffy could duck or move out of his way, Angelus was tackling her to the ground. He straddled her and pinned her arms above her head before she could blink.

"What's my line again, Buff? Oh yes. This doesn't look good for our heroin." He held her wrists down with one hand and wiped the back of his other hand underneath his nose, removing the remaining blood before bringing it back down to contain Buffy's wrists. She pulled at her arms, trying to jerk them free, feeling the warmth of his blood against her wrist. She twisted and wriggled underneath him, struggling to get some part of her body out from under him so she could push him off, but his weight was making it impossible. "Well, you know the heroin types," Buffy said, tugging her arms harder, "they always win in the end."

Angelus laughed, causing Buffy to writhe underneath him even more. Then she heard his laughter stop – only to be replaced by groans. "Keep wriggling like that Buff, and you won't get out of this cemetery clothed."

Buffy froze, dread sinking in the pit of her stomach, stopping all her struggling. Angelus leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead, perverting what was usually a gesture of affection. She felt vibrations of another groan in his chest as he pressed himself even more flush against her, and she felt something else begin to grow against her thigh. Buffy lay completely still, not wanting to encourage him.

"Well, it looks like you have me trapped… what are you doing to do now?" Buffy swallowed nervously, looking up at him as he rose back up, putting some more distance between them. She didn't like being helpless. She hated it, and she hated Angelus all the more for putting her in this situation. Her eyes trailed over the bits of blood on his face, and she wished she could bloody him up some more.

"Your eyes change color when you're angry, lover. Did you know that?"

Buffy stiffened as one of his hands moved to run his fingers through her hair, gently unsnagging some of the tangles, moving hair from in front of her eyes. His one hand tightened around her wrists as his other one ran lightly over her curves. Buffy struggled to remain still, gritting her teeth as he touched her. "What _am_ I going to do with you my trembling, fierce little kitten…" Angelus murmured as he looked her over, his eyes hooded and dark, the cuts and bruises on his skin already beginning to heal.

Her breath quickened, her breasts rising and falling faster with each breath. Buffy couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just lie there and let him do whatever he wanted. The fighter in her wouldn't let her. She needed to get out from under him – now! She bucked her hips upwards, jerked, and wrenched one of her arms free. She grabbed the wrist attached to his wandering hand, lifting it off of her body, gripping it as tight as she could. "You will do _nothing_," Buffy hissed, glaring up at him.

"You know, you're right, Buff. I don't mind you doing all the hard work." Suddenly, Angelus flipped them over so that Buffy was flush on top of him, causing Buffy to help in surprise. He smiled lazily, his free hand sliding to her hip and pulling her tighter against him, his hard thighs cradling her form. Buffy stared at him in shock, watching as his eyes darkened with lust.

"Here I am, lover - submissive and willing."

Buffy felt the contours of his body pressing against hers, and she was reminded of her moments with Angel. She remembered dragging his hands over the muscles of his chest and stomach, kneading the skin of his shoulders and neck, running her hands through his hair, sliding herself onto his- Buffy suddenly found herself turned on. She felt something hard pressing against her thigh, and she felt heat run through her body and pool between her legs. Oh God…

Before she could stop herself, her eyes raked over his form, her hands pressing flat against his chest. She found herself leaning forward, her eyes darting to his lips, her tongue running over her own in anticipation.

Just one kiss… one kiss wouldn't hurt. Just one. That was all she needed. What was the harm in one simple kiss? She just needed to get this out of her system, and then she'd be fine. She bit her lower lip, her fingers pressing into his chest. She closed the space between then, decided in her decision, and pressed her lips against his. His arms locked around her and he parted his lips, the two of them exploring each other's mouths and running their hands over each other with such a hunger that it surprised Buffy. God it was so good…

Angelus bit playfully on her bottom lip, breaking the skin slightly. It didn't hurt – much, but it was enough to break Buffy out of her lust-clouded state. She pulled back, staring down at him, and then pushed herself off of Angelus as quickly as she could, stumbling at the abruptness of finding her feet, finally catching her balance. "Stop it!" she hissed at him angrily, breathing heavily. "Stop doing whatever it is you're doing to me!"

It was wrong, what she was feeling. She could deal with being attracted to him – he looked like Angel. But she could not condone actually acting on it. It was wrong! If Angel ever found out, she wasn't sure he could ever forgive her. Wanting a monster… Buffy was sick.

Angelus just smirked, tucked his hands beneath his head, and tapped a boot against his crossed knee. "It's all you, lover. Not me. It's alright to take what you want, you know."

He was the picture of sin, lying in the grass, looking up at her with that seductive gleam in his eyes… The way his pants tightened around his body with his crossed legs… Buffy shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. "No, no, it's not just me! You're tormenting me. You're messing with me, you're doing this to me!" She was so angry she was shaking. A part of her knew that though he had been goading her into it, it was her who took that last step, but she refused to admit it – to him, and to herself. "I can't do this, I can't!" Her breathing came even quicker now, and Buffy ran her hands through her hair, distraught. God, she was having a nervous break down. Angelus smirked up at her, enjoying every minute of it. Buffy barely noticed. "Even if I did, or wanted to, you don't feel anything for me. There's no feeling in you, none! You don't have a soul, how _can_ you feel anything? I don't even know if you're capable of love!"

She gasped, putting her hand to her lips, freezing at the last part. She didn't mean to say that. Where the hell had that come from? She glanced down at Angelus, trying to gage his reaction. There was no smile on his face now. What it her imagination, or did he look like he was… afraid? As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Angelus was on his feet, scowling furiously and stalking towards her with determined steps.

"You're right, Slayer. I shouldn't give a damn about love. It disgusts me, it's a human emotion that does nothing but promote weakness. For centuries I was with one of the most powerful vampires that ever lived, and if I never loved her I sure as _hell_ shouldn't give a damn about something as-" he cut off suddenly, his body a hairs breath from touching her. Buffy held her breath, staring up at him. Now she was the one that was scared. Still, his closeness caused a slight ache to form between her thighs. What was doing to her? Slowly, his angry expression softened, and then…

"I love you…"

Buffy blinked, stunned. It had been a whisper, quiet enough that she could have heard him wrong… But she didn't think she did. He… he loved her? Did he just say that he loved her?

"I hate myself for it. You're everything I hate and yet… somehow…" his eyes took on a peculiar glow as he lifted a hand to touch her cheek. "I find myself incapable of killing you, Buff."

Buffy stared up at him stupidly, not finding anything to say in response. What could she say? She couldn't say, 'I love you too,' because she wouldn't let herself, even if she did mean it. She loved Angel, not Angelus. She couldn't just say, 'thanks,' because that was just… insulting. As much as she wanted to hurt Angelus, she couldn't do that. So, she said the only thing that came to mind.

"You- you didn't love Darla?" Oh boy, and she stuttered. He really was shaking her up.

Angelus took his hand away from her cheek and lifted his hands to his chin, steepling his fingers and studying her. "Darla is my Sire, and a creature unlike any other. She created me, Buff, and we will always be together in that way." The corners of his lips turned upwards in a small seductive smile, and he continued. "You're the one I want, lover. Something Angel and I hold in common."

He sounded sincere, but Buffy couldn't trust how people sounded. She would've been killed years ago if she were that trusting. She licked her lips, stiffening slightly, bracing herself for any anger that would come from her next question. "Is this a trick, Angelus, or are you actually being serious?"

If it was true, she had no idea what to expect. A relationship with a vampire wouldn't be the "Honey, I'm home!" type of relationship. It definitely wouldn't be normal… Whoa, wait, she was actually considering this? She needed to back up, miles, and start over. She didn't love him. She didn't want him badly enough to actually consider anything even close to resembling any kind of relationship… right?

Besides that fact, images of him "slaughtering the innocent," killing puppies, tormenting her friends, and blood smeared around his mouth ran through her head. She could never be with someone like that.

Instead of voicing his answer, he reached for her, and pulled her into his arms, lowered his head, and pushed his lips against hers in a bruising, hungry, fierce kiss. All thoughts of how much of a monster Angelus was were replaced by images of him naked and on top of her… Buffy found herself responding instantly. It was impossible not do. He was demanding with his body and with his lips and his tongue and smell that she respond to him. His kisses were almost deliberately opposite from Angel's, like he was trying to make sure she couldn't confuse the two. She reached around him, tangling her hands in his hair with one hand, the other raking her nails down his chest. His lips left hers and she gasped for air, closing her eyes as he buried his face in the slope of her neck, inhaling her scent. This behavior was all too familiar to her, but Buffy didn't dwell on it.

"Buffy," she heard him murmur into her hair.

She shook her head, although she knew he couldn't see it. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back up. "No," she whispered, almost panting, "no talking." Then she was on him with as much intensity as she had ever had with someone else, claiming his lips again hungrily, and Angelus matched her passion for passion.

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**Tadaa!**

**End of the rewrite saga. Or... whatever. I'll start on the next NEW new chapter soon. As you can see (people who've read this before) there are some changes to the plot line.  
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**Review, my readers! Review!**

**~Reiney  
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	5. Chapter 4: Passion

**Yo, shawties. It's part five! Huzzah! (wow, that was like… a 1000 year lifespan in language there…)**

**This chapter is M rated. Like… very M rated. For… M rated stuff… Okay, there's SEX in this chapter, all right? If you don't like sex, scroll down until it's over and then start reading. Got it? Good!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm working on re-writing the first two chapters. I'm not quite happy with them (they are two or three years old, after all). So I'll hopefully have that done within the month. You can re-read them if you want, but it'll be generally the same deal, just… better writing, heh.**

**Anyways… Enjoy!**

**-insert brief disclaimer about ownership of characters here-**

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Angelus tasted wonderful.

He tasted like danger, sex, and like the familiar taste of Angel. She just couldn't get enough. Her hands were everywhere at once but she just couldn't seem to get enough of him at once. She broke from his lips gasping for air, her chest rising and falling faster with her quick breathing. Why had she been saying no to him when it was this good? How could she ever say no to _this_? He was beautiful, and so _hot_.

His roaming gaze caused tremors to run up Buffy's spine in anticipation. What would he do next? Her answer came soon enough, as Angelus grasped Buffy's shirt in his hands and ripped it open in one swift stroke. The buttons broke and flew off in every direction, some bouncing off of his chest. Angelus ran his hands over her bare skin, brushing off the scraps of shirt to the ground. Buffy shivered from the new cold, feeling her nipples grow harder and pressing against the material of her bra, begging to be let free. Her cheeks flushed and she suppressed the urge to cover herself. Why should she be embarrassed? He'd seen it all before, after all… Sort of.

She saw his eyes drop to her breasts – he noticed. A grin appeared on his beautiful face, and his eyes moved back up to hers. "Ah Buff, exactly how I like you." He pulled her close to him, leading them down to the ground. He crawled slowly on top of her, in predatorial motions, like he was about to eat her. "Needy and wanton."

God, just his voice alone was enough to get Buffy going. Her blood sang to him in her veins, her skin grew hot at his husky voice, and his words caused that familiar ache between her legs to grow. Buffy helped lift his shirt over his head, marveling at the muscles of his arms and his chest. She had always loved watching muscles move under the skin, and he was definitely well shaped… She licked her lips unconsciously, running her hands over his cool skin. "Let me warm you up…" she murmured, eyeing him hungrily. She ran her nails down his chest and slid her tongue up his neck. He tilted his head to the side to give her more access, hissing a "Yes" in response to her ministrations. Her fingers started massaging his abs as her mouth found his once again, and she grinned as she felt him groan into her mouth. She bit his lower lip playfully, rolling it around under her teeth before letting it go.

This was wrong… This was so wrong, but Buffy was beyond the point of caring. He was gorgeous, and he was going to be hers. He had started this, and Buffy was going to finish it - even if they were going to do it outside in a graveyard. There was a first time for everything, right?

Angelus pushed Buffy's arms to the ground, sliding a knee between her legs and pressing it just where she needed him the most. Buffy groaned, sliding her hips down to rub harder against his knee. "Do you want it, baby?" she heard him say. His eyes were almost black with lust, and though he inhabited the same body as Angel, that feral look on his face was completely alien to everything that was Angel. She could not blame this on the resemblance later, and he knew it. He leaned down towards her, kissing her neck gently and the corners of her mouth. "How badly do you want it, lover?" he growled against her skin.

He rubbed his knee in a circle between her legs, causing a moan to escape from Buffy's lips. "I want it," she breathed out, her skin flushing in arousal. God, she needed him. She needed more. His hands left hers, moving to run over the skin of her breasts. She arched her back as he unclasped her bra, sliding it off and throwing it to the side. His large hand ran over her breast, his finger lightly sliding across her nipple. Buffy moaned, her nipples growing almost painfully erect. He leaned forward, running his tongue around her nipple and then over it, causing pleasurable waves to run through her body. He blew softly on the area, goose bumps appearing on Buffy's skin. He did the same to the other, and Buffy couldn't take it anymore.

She reached down to his hips, running her hand down his pants until she found what she was looking for and grabbing it. She looked up at him and smiled. "How much do _you_ want it?" He ground down against her hand, and then he shoved her hands away, unbuckling his belt. With incredible speed, he had his leather pants unbuckled, unzipped, and shoved down his legs and out of the way as Buffy writhed underneath him. She began to unbutton her jeans when he just grabbed them and ripped them off of her. Buffy cried out in surprise, but didn't protest. They were in the way, and they needed to be removed. Why did she care how? His way was faster.

"Mine," Angelus growled, positioning himself above her. He grabbed her thigh and pulled it up to his hip, the tip of himself pressing lightly against her entrance. She was more than ready for him. Buffy looked up at him when he didn't press into her, frowning. He was teasing her. Well, she was not having any of that. She grabbed his hips and lifted hers, pulling him into her. She bit her lip as he filled her, and filled her some more. It hurt, he was so big – not that she was complaining.

She could hear his groans of pleasure as she impaled herself on him, finally feeling him completely encased inside of her. His skin was already warmer than before. Angelus started up a lazy rhythm with his hips, propping himself up on his arms so that he could see all of Buffy. She knew he didn't want to miss a single moment of this. He was going to taunt her with it later, she knew, but right now she didn't really care. He could watch all he wanted. He started driving in deeper and then he hit her spot. Buffy's back arched and her eyes closed, heat pooling between her legs and tingles running up her spine. "God, that's so good…" Buffy groaned, digging her nails into his shoulders.

His rhythm increased, and each time he pushed back in he would push against that spot. Her pleasure was increasing and increasing, the cold of being outside no longer affecting her. She was hot – she was on fire. Sweat beaded her brow, and she felt the beginnings of her orgasm. Suddenly she felt pressure on her clit, his fingers going in tight circles, and that did it.

Her toes curled and her grip on his shoulders tightened as waves of pleasure ran through her. Moans and incomplete words and sentences ran from her lips, and she looked up at Angelus, his eyes open watching her every move and reaction. His fingers kept rubbing her clit and he kept pushing in and out, his rhythm getting faster and faster. Her body shuddered and convulsed as her orgasm ended, leaving her breathless.

He still hadn't finished. "Come on, baby. Do it again for me."

Angelus lifted her thigh up higher and he slowed down a bit, running his fingers up and down her clit, rotating between circles and straight pressure. Sure enough, Buffy felt the ache between her legs return, and the heat build. He could manipulate her body into doing anything. She could come over and over again all night if he wanted her to.

Buffy wrapped her leg around his hips and then he was pounding into her. He bent both her knees to give them a rougher, deeper penetration. They were both groaning so loud Buffy was sure someone could hear them. His features suddenly morphed into that of his vampire face and before Buffy could say anything against it he buried his face in the bend of her neck, piercing her skin – oddly gentle.

Buffy was too preoccupied with what was going on below her neck to really notice the pain, and it wasn't distracting enough to bring her down from her pleasure induced high. She felt herself reach her peak again, and she knew Angelus was there with her this time. His pace increased, and she vaguely felt his fangs leave her neck. Her internal muscles clamped down on him for the second time, and they both cried out in pleasure, sweat glistening on their skin.

She came at the same time as Angelus, and he collapsed next to her, his face buried in her neck. They lay there for who knows how long, just breathing, basking in the afterglow of amazing sex. Buffy felt drugged. She literally felt high. That was the most amazing sex she had ever had. She felt his lips pressing against her neck and his tongue running over his bite marks. She almost purred in contentment. She lay in the graveyard, next to a vampire, eyes closed, panting, not a care in the world.

And then Angelus got up, and the reality of the situation came crashing down on her. She watched him, as he dressed and leaned against a gravestone, lighting a cigarette, blowing out the smoke into the night like nothing had just happened.

Buffy sat up, staring straight ahead, almost in a state of shock. She just had sex with Angelus. She just had _sex_ with _Angelus_. She just FUCKED Angelus. In a _graveyard_! She just had sex with one of her greatest enemies! She just had sex with the monster inhabiting her boyfriend's body! Buffy put a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. Oh God… What would Angel say to her when he came back?

What would her friends say? What if they found out? Would they even talk to her again? Her other hand came up to join the other one. She was screwed. Buffy summers was _fucked_.

How could she do this? How could she have let herself do this? Was she _that_ stupid? Was she so easily manipulated that she would go and have _sex_ with _him_? She was hyperventilating. She needed to calm down or she was going to have a panic attack. She needed to get out of there. She scrambled around for her clothes, pulling her underwear and bra on, slipping on her broken shirt. The pants were beyond repair.

A jacket landed in front of her, and she looked over at Angelus, slightly surprised. It was long enough that it would hide the fact that she didn't have on any bottoms.

"Relax, fashion plate," he said calmly, blowing out a waft of smoke from the cigarette. Buffy almost told him how terrible smoking was, a sudden reaction, but she caught herself. It wasn't like he was going to die from lung cancer.

"Thanks," she murmured, slipping it on and crossing her arms underneath her chest in a protective gesture. She felt used. He obviously didn't care about what just happened. He looked victorious, leaning so nonchalantly against that gravestone, like he had just won the lottery. Damn him. Damn him to hell. Again.

He must have noticed her glaring, because he gave her a lazy, wolfish smile. He leisurely padded over to her, swiping aside her mane of hair as he reached her, pressing the pads of his fingers against the re-opened scar on her neck. She let him, gritting her teeth. She was back to hating him again. He deserved it. "I think you wear my mark beautifully, Buff." He brought the cigarette to his lips once more, before flicking it away with easy disinterest. It hit the grass, sparked, glowing amber. "And I also think," he said, moving back to his gravestone, "that you're going to make me one hell of a consort."

She had no idea what to say to that. His consort? She just gaped at him, completely disgusted and at a loss for words. There was absolutely no way she was going to let him get to her again. He was not getting anything from her _ever_ again, she would make sure of it. She was stronger than this! She was the slayer, for Christ sakes! So, instead of a response, she turned on her heel and ran.

Not the bravest of answers, but it was the only thing she could think of to do. She needed to get away, and she had a feeling he wasn't going to follow her. He had gotten what he wanted.

She reached her house, ran up to her room and shut the door. She took off his coat and threw it to the floor, stomping on it for good measure and kicking it to the corner. She was fuming. She was angry at him, but she was more angry at herself. Buffy ran her hands through her hair, feeling lost. She walked into the bathroom, peeling off her clothes, turning on the shower. She felt dirty – tainted. She just had sex with a monster, and she needed to get him off of her.

She wanted to feel clean again, like maybe if she washed enough she could wash him off of her completely, and it would be like it never happened. She turned the water as hot as it would go, and stepped under the stream, letting it run over her. Buffy grabbed she soap and scrubbed her skin, rubbing hardest over her breasts and in-between her legs. She pulled her fingers from between her legs, some of his semen running off of them and down the drain. She stared at her hand, the water pounding against her back, and broke.

Buffy slid down to the porcelain bathtub, letting the water cascade over her.

She was a terrible person. What kind of a person would sleep with a monster like him? She was a sick, awful, terrible person. She didn't deserve to be a slayer if she was going to go and sleep with a vampire, one without a soul, especially one of the most evil vampires of all time. She betrayed Angel in every way, and the worst way possible. If what Angelus said was true, that he had been there all the time when she was with Angel, he just wasn't in control, then… what if Angel had been there? What if he was there inside Angelus, witnessing everything that happened?

Buffy's lip trembled, and then the tears came out. Her whole body was shaking, even with the heat of the water. The weight of what had happened was crushing her. She slammed her fist into the wall, sobbing. Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the shower water.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed, hunching over. "I'm so sorry…" She brought her knees to her chest, leaning against the wall of the bath, huddling into herself. She just wanted to disappear.

* * *

**I don't know if I'm completely happy with this chapter, I may go back and edit some of it. I lack a beta, so I do my own editing and judging on whether a chapter's good or not. =P  
**

**Let me know if you like it!  
**

**REVIEW! I'll give you cookies!**

**See you in the next chapter. =)**


	6. Chapter 5: Nightmare

**Chapter rating: T, bordering on M**

**Character perspective: Xander  
**

**Okay so... this chapter is rather short, but I felt like it needed to stay within Xander's perspective, so I couldn't add any more to it. The next chapter will be longer. But HEY, the story's continuing! This is the first NEW chapter for this story since like... what... November? December? Rejoice and be glad, my readers!  
**

**FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THIS STORY BEFORE BUT HAVEN'T READ THE REWRITTEN CHAPTERS, YOU SHOULD DO THAT BEFORE READING THIS ONE, OR YOU WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON. Well, you'll still be confused anyway (you're supposed to be at this point), but not AS confused.  
**

* * *

It had been an amazing night. It was more than Xander had ever hoped for. Here he was, with the love of his life asleep in his arms, in a beautiful honeymoon suite in Hawaii. To think he almost let Willow get away… No, he wouldn't think about that now. He had Willow, finally, and that was all that mattered.

Xander had heard many times that the wedding was for the woman, and the honeymoon was for the man. Xander had pictured the wedding night ever since the two of them got engaged, and it had been more than he could have imagined. It was truly perfect. He saw a part of her that she had never shown him before, and there was finally no other partner in the way. Willow wanted the two of them to save themselves for the wedding night, and Xander had waited, though he never forgot to express just how desperately he wanted – and loved – Willow. The two of them were together, the way it should be, for now and for always.

With that thought, Xander fell asleep, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Finally, I thought you'd never conch out."

Xander's eyes shot open and he sat up in bed, the room illuminated by a strange foggy glow. Willow was lying in bed next to him, still asleep.

"Over here, lover boy."

Xander found the owner of the voice sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. It was _her_. She looked the same as when he saw her at the wedding. His eyes narrowed angrily as she smiled at him. Why did she have to be here? She couldn't let him have his honeymoon in peace? "What are you doing? Willow's here! We've discussed this!"

She just waved her hand dismissively at him. "You're dreaming, Xander. I'm not crashing your little love-fest just yet - don't worry. She's perfectly safe."

Xander visibly relaxed, leaning back against the bedhead. So this was just a dream… Willow couldn't be harmed, and neither could he. He felt bolder with that knowledge. "So why are you here?"

"I've come to talk to you about what you promised me. I've held up my end of the bargain, and I'm here to tell you I'm coming to collect soon." She leaned forward, half of her face eerily hidden in shadow, the other half shining with the same strange glow as the room. "You owe me, Harris."

He swallowed nervously as her one visible eye glinted creepily and a smile spread across her lips. "I'm not ready…" Xander had hoped she would give him more time. He had prayed every night when he went to sleep that he wouldn't have to see her again for a very long time. "I need more time. Please, just give me some more time! Come back in a month and I'll be ready."

Her smile disappeared, and suddenly she was in front of him, standing by the bed. He hadn't seen her move. There was something about her face that was now just… wrong. Her eyes were darker than a normal person's, her features were somehow more defined, and her teeth… her teeth had lengthened into razor sharp points – like a shark. She looked like a predator, her stance screamed predator, and Xander pushed himself further back against the headboard. "S-stay back!" he yelled as she leaned towards him, putting her hands on the end of the bed. "This is a dream, you can't hurt me!"

She just sneered at him, and Xander shuddered, her teeth glinting in the eerie glow. "We had an agreement, Xander." Suddenly she was up on the bed, on all fours, grinning at him, slowly crawling down the bed towards him. "I can't hurt you, no, not yet, not here, but I can scare you so much that every shadow that you see will make you cringe, and every time you close your eyes you will see what I can show you – and it will make you scream. I can be nice, Xander. Don't make me be mean." She stopped, her hands only inches away from his body, looking up at him with her black eyes.

Xander couldn't find the words, or the air, to speak. He was frozen with fear.

"Now… About your request for more time… I'm afraid that's not possible. I gave you what you wanted when you wanted it, and we agreed on the time for when I would get what I wanted. I get very angry when I don't get what I want, Harris… When I come to get you, you had better be willing to carry out what we agreed on. You need to be willing." She slowly pulled her knees up and sat back on her haunches, studying him. "I have a feeling you're going to try and do something stupid – like run."

Xander just shook his head, his mouth dry and devoid of moisture. He licked his lips, trying to create some sort of wetness. "I won't, I promise," he choked out.

"See, I don't think I can take that promise, Xander, since you just tried to change your last one. Let me give you a little incentive to stay put and be willing about our exchange… Let me show you what will happen if you try and mess this up." She lifted her hands, bringing them slowly towards Xander's face.

"Don't! Please, don't!" he cried, shrinking back as far as he could. He didn't want her to touch him. He knew something bad would happen if she touched him – something that would haunt him forever.

"Don't worry, this'll only hurt a bit," she crooned, flashing him a smile full of razor sharp teeth. Xander shuddered as she got closer, and then screamed as her hands planted themselves over his temples. Pain flooded his head, his torso, his entire body – he felt like he was on fire, and all he could hear was her laughing.

Images of Willow screaming in pain flashed through his head. She was on the floor, bleeding. She was being ripped apart. She was being cut up. Her eyes were being gauged out. Her fingers were being snapped one by one. Her joints were being mauled and burned. Her ears were being pulled off. Her insides were being yanked from gaping wounds.

Xander screamed and screamed, his body jerking violently, trying in vain to make the images go away. They kept changing before his eyes, each one worse than the one before it. This was going to scar him forever. He could smell the blood, her blood. He could hear her screams. He could hear each horrible thing that was being done to her.

He felt someone shaking him, and then he found control of his body again. His eyes flew open and he gasped for breath, crying out in surprise and fear to see someone hovering over him.

"Xander, it's okay! It's just me!"

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, he made out the face of Willow leaning above him. He sat up, grabbing her shoulders, looking her over. She was alive. She was alive, she was okay, and she was here with him. He pulled Willow to him, holding her tightly in his arms. He never wanted to let go.

"Xander, what's wrong? What were you dreaming about? You've been shouting for the past few minutes, and I couldn't wake you up at first. You really had me worried."

He clutched her to his chest, too scared to cry. "It's nothing," he whispered, "just a nightmare…" He couldn't get the images from his head, and then he pushed Willow from him, running to the bathroom. He threw up.


	7. Chapter 6: Information

**Okay so... been a while! Hey guys! I'm not going to give you some boring long explanation about my absence, but I will say that I'm trying to get the time to get back to writing for my stories. I have chapter 7 for Gypsy's Gift written as well, and I'll be posting that in a couple of days. It's not extremely long, like this one isn't very long, but it is (I hope) more exciting than this chapter.**

**This chapter is basically filler - sorry about that - background info and what not, but the real action will be starting up very soon. Hold tight, kiddies! This story's just getting revved up.**

**Chapter rating: T  
**

**-insert disclaimer here- **

* * *

Buffy hadn't slept well. Of course she hadn't. After what she had done, she was surprised she had been able to fall asleep at all. It had only been for a few hours, but those few hours had helped. What was done was done, and since she couldn't do anything to change it, she'd just have to make sure it would never _ever_ happen again and move on.

She stared up at her ceiling, the light streaming through her window growing brighter as the sun rose higher above the horizon. She didn't want to get out of bed… but she had to. She needed to call Wesley and get the full story. She didn't want to be thinking of all the different ways Angelus could have been released. The sooner she called, the sooner her imagination would stop playing reels of Angel having sex with other women. It was giving her a headache.

She sat up, slowly, trying to rub the tiredness out of her eyes. She was about to stand when she noticed something – something red. She crawled out of the covers and sat back on her heels, pushing her fingers through her hair until they hit her neck. They were rose petals. Rose petals were surrounding her bed in a beautiful red arc. Buffy's eyes darted to the window she distinctly remembered closing the night before – it was open. Then she noticed something else. An envelope was resting on the corner of her bed.

"Buffy" was written on the front in beautiful, swooping letters. She turned it over, pushing the flap up, and pulling out the letter inside. Buffy unfolded the paper, inhaling sharply as she saw what it was. He had drawn a picture of her, sleeping, with tear-stained cheeks and smeared mascara. Underneath, was the message: _Looking forward to our next fuck, lover._

She sat there, staring at his letter, rage boiling in the pit of her stomach. How could she not have thought to uninvite him? How could she not have expected this? How could she have been so stupid? And how dare he enter her home and leave her something like _this_? Buffy gripped the letter tightly at the top, pinched it with her thumb and index finger and sharply pulled downwards, ripping it in half. She tore at the letter furiously, shredding it until there was no possible way to put it together again.

Scrambling off of her bed, she grabbed her wastebasket. Buffy grabbed as many rose petals as she could in each handful and threw them in the trash along with the scraps of paper littering her bed. When she was finished, she pulled the trash bag out and tied the top shut. She grabbed her perfume, her body spray, and some Fabreeze and sprayed around the room until she couldn't smell anything remotely related to roses. Finished, her nose tingling and stinging from the multitude of scents, Buffy leaned back against her wall, panting slightly, setting the perfume down on her desk. She needed to uninvite him, and she needed to uninvite him today. She couldn't let this happen again, especially with Dawn in the house. Calming her breathing, she took her phone from her bedside table and sat down on the edge of her bed. She needed to call Wesley first. Before she could fix any of this, she needed to get the story straight.

Forcing herself to calm down, taking deep breaths, she dialed Wesley's number.

* * *

"_Do you need anything, Buffy? We can come down there and try and contain him. We originally had him in a cage, but… well, you know what happened."_

She shook her head, taking a few seconds to realize he couldn't see it. "No, no I'll be fine. Willow's on her honeymoon right now, but I have someone else who can help me. Angel should be back in no time."

"_Okay. Just… be careful, Buffy. Stay safe, and let me know if you need assistance."_

"I will. Bye, Wesley, and thanks." Buffy hung up the phone, a small smile on her lips. So he hadn't found perfect happiness with someone else. That thought caused hundreds of knots and tension in her body to release, and she felt better – somewhat better, anyway.

She pulled the bag Xander gave her earlier from under the bed, and pulled out the paper with Tara's number. Now to uninvite that bastard…

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Tara, it's Buffy. I need a favor…"

* * *

"Thank you so much for this. Seriously, thank you." Buffy said, for probably the fifth time, as she nailed a cross next to the front door. Dawn was at school, thankfully, so Buffy didn't have to explain all of this to her. She wasn't planning on telling Dawn about Angelus at all. Hopefully Angelus would be a non-issue very soon.

"It's no problem, really. I'm happy to help. After what I saw at Willow's reception, I know I wouldn't want him to have a free pass to my house." Tara held the spell book in her hands, waiting until the second cross was nailed next to the door to start the incantation. Buffy and Tara had nailed crosses on Buffy's window, the back and front doors, and now all that was left was the incantation.

Buffy hammered the nail into the last cross, stepping back as Tara finished up the spell. She already felt much better. Now as long as Dawn didn't go outside by herself at night, Buffy didn't have much to worry about. Tara shut the book, finished, and smiled at Buffy. It was done. Thank God.

"Can I ask you another favor?" Buffy asked after a moment of hesitation. Tara nodded, and Buffy sat down on the couch in the living room, Tara sitting down across from her. "I can't do it by myself, otherwise I wouldn't ask… I need help restoring Angel's soul."

Tara's body tensed slightly. She looked over at Buffy, saying slowly, "That's very powerful magick Buffy… Very powerful. I'm not sure if I have enough power to do it successfully."

"That's why I would help you! I don't know much about magick, but I have plenty of slayer power to spare. Is there a power transfer spell or something? Please Tara. I know that we don't know each other very well, but you have to know that this is important. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

There was silence between them for a few moments, self-doubt, indecision, and finally a spark of a positive thought running over Tara's face. "Well, I do know of one transfer spell we could use."

Buffy's body relaxed, and she gave Tara a grateful smile. "Thank you, Tara."

"Angel's soul is in the ether, right?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. It's in a jar somewhere. It sort of went missing."

Tara sat back in the chair, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I can't do the spell. If the soul isn't in the ether, I have to be able to see it in order to free it. If Willow were here she might be able to pull off what you need, but I can't. No matter how much power you give me, I'm not skilled enough to do that sort of a spell. It could go very wrong."

Buffy nodded. It looked like she was going to have to find another way to deal with Angelus, but she wasn't going to fault Tara for saying no. Buffy didn't want to put Tara in danger, and if it could harm Angel's soul there was no way Buffy was going to risk it. "Well thank you for helping me uninvite him, Tara."

"Of course! I'm just sorry I couldn't do more. Call me if you need anything else, okay?"

"I will. Thanks again, Tara, for everything."

Almost as soon as Tara left the house, Buffy heard the phone ring. She walked over to the kitchen and picked up the phone from the receiver. "Hello?"

"_Buffy? It's Xander."_

Something in his voice sounded a bit off, but she was glad to hear from him. "Hey, Xander! How's Hawa-"

"_Buffy I'm in trouble. I'm in deep trouble and I don't know how to get out of it. Willow's in danger, and I don't know what to do."_

"What? What's wrong, Xander? What's going on?" Buffy took the phone with her into the living room, sitting down on the sofa, preparing herself for whatever it was Xander had to say. This had to be something big if he was calling Buffy on his honeymoon and sounded this upset. No, he didn't sound upset… He sounded terrified.

"_Okay. Um… Don't say anything until I tell you the whole story, okay Buffy?"_

Buffy promised she wouldn't, and could hear him sigh and could visualize him running his hand through his hair. What on earth was making him this scared?

"_Right. Well… A few months ago I noticed something weird. I had this feeling like someone was following me. I didn't see anything incredibly suspicious, but I just had this creepy feeling I couldn't shake. Well, a month or so after that feeling started, I bumped into this woman on the sidewalk. I apologized and kept on my way. But then… I started seeing this woman everywhere. Like… everywhere, Buffy._

"_I would see her at the coffee shop, I'd see her in the grocery store, I'd see her on the street when I was heading over to your house. She was the one following me. And um… Uh, one day I confronted her about it, and I found out that she wasn't a regular woman. She's a demon, Buffy - a scary, glowy-eyed, pointy-teeth demon. She um, she slammed me into a wall and then left. I didn't tell you about it because after that I didn't see her anymore. I thought she'd gone._

"_But she's here, Buffy. She's in Hawaii, and I think she's planning something. It has something to do with Willow, I know it does, and I'm freaking out over here. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared that I don't want Willow to leave the hotel room."_

He stopped talking, breathing heavily on the other line. Buffy leaned forward on the sofa, resting her arm on her knee. "Well, first, you definitely should have told me about this Xander. Right from the start. You wouldn't be in this situation if you had just told someone about it."

"_I know, Buffy. Don't you think I know that? I'm stupid, I'm an idiot, I'm a failure as a husband and as a friend and all that, I get it. I would change it if I could, but I can't, and now I'm stuck in this situation. I need your help, Buffy, not your lectures."_

Buffy exhaled slowly, trying to think. "Okay. Well, this is obviously not something small, or this demon wouldn't have been following you for so long. She's been planning something for the past few months, which means you need to leave Hawaii as soon as possible. Whatever she's been planning, you are completely isolated over there. You need to get back to Sunnydale with Willow as soon as you can. Book the next flight home. Do whatever you need to do, just get back here."

"_Done."_

"Can you give me any more details about what this thing looked like? Maybe then Giles and I can find some info about what it is."

"_Brown hair, small, female... But besides the fact that she looks like a completely regular human most of the time? And that her eyes glow, turn black, and her teeth lengthen into razor sharp points? No, nothing."_

Buffy leaned back against the sofa, biting the inside of her lip. "Well, that isn't much to go on…"

"_Wait! There's one more thing. She's been in my dreams the past couple nights. And I don't mean that I was dreaming about her, I mean she put herself in my dreams somehow to talk to me. Creepy shit, Buffy."_

"Well what did she say? Did she tell you what she wants?"

"_She said… she said that if I didn't do what she wanted when the time came, she'd hurt Willow." _

What was this demon after? The things Xander had told her weren't giving her any clues. "Okay, get out of there. Get on the earliest flight to California, or wherever in the states, just get back here. Rent a car and drive back to Sunnydale. I'll talk to Giles about it and see if we can find anything. The dream thing has to narrow it down. Have you told Willow about any of this?"

There were a few moments of silence on the other line. "_No. I didn't want to ruin the vacation for her._"

"Well, now would be a great time to tell her. Tell her, get packing, and get your asses back here asap. And be careful! Travel in crowds, stay in public places, don't go off by yourself or let Willow go off by herself. Stay together."

"_Got it. Anything else?"_

"Yeah. Do you have anything that could be used as a weapon? I know plane security is tight, but can you get anything now that you could throw away when you get to the airport? A pocket knife, a bigger knife, anything?"

"_Yeah, I can do that. I'll get home as soon as I can. Thanks Buffy. I- Oh, hey! You done with your shower?"_

Buffy heard Willow speaking in the background, and figured their phone conversation was over.

"_Gotta go, Buffy. I'll text you about our flight. Thanks."_

She heard the click that signaled the hang-up, and then the dial tone rang in her ear. Buffy pressed the OFF button and fell back against the sofa, running her hands over her face. Another problem to add to the list. God, couldn't things just stay easy and simple for a while? Was that too much to ask?

* * *

**Review review review! If you review, maybe I'll let you spend a few hours with our favorite evil Angel.** ;)


	8. Chapter 7: Transference

**Here it is, chapter 7! Posted in a couple of days, as promised. =)  
**

**Chapter rating: T**

**Character perspective: Xander  
**

* * *

"Xander, the quickest flight back that has two seats open is tomorrow afternoon. It's to LA."

Well that was more convenient than having to fly to Texas or something. Xander had both of their suitcases on the bed, and he was packing up their clothes. "Book it," he said without hesitation, zipping up his suitcase.

"Okay, it leaves at one. So we'll need to get to the airport at 11."

"Fine." Xander dumped some more of Willow's clothes into her suitcase, making little effort to fold them nicely.

"We can get the hotel to drive us to the airport."

"Good." Xander emptied out the rest of the drawers, and was attempting to shove everything into the suitcase and make it zip.

"Xander… It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay."

Willow was consoling him when her life was in danger? That seemed backwards. Xander paused in his packing frenzy to take a breath and look at her. She looked scared. It was like she needed to say those words in order to believe it. Xander hadn't been giving her much reassurance.

After their conversation, Xander went straight to work packing, canceling the hotel reservations and canceling hikes and snorkel and spa appointments so that they could leave as fast as possible. He hadn't taken much time to make sure that she was doing okay. His worrying must've been freaking Willow out.

He moved around to the other side of the bed, nearer to Willow, and sat down on the edge. He took a breath, trying to calm himself down. He had to be strong for her. "I'm sorry, Will. I don't mean to be panicky. And I'm sorry our honeymoon is ruined. I just want to get you back home safe."

Willow reached out and took his hands in hers, giving him a small smile. "I don't care about the honeymoon, Xander. I care about you, and I care about us."

"I'm going to do everything I can to get us home safe, Willow. This is all my fault, and I'm so sorry - for everything."

Willow shook her head, scooting a bit closer to Xander. "How can this be your fault? You don't tell Buffy about a demon, so everything is your fault? You can't blame yourself for this, Xander. I certainly don't."

If only she knew... Xander's gaze moved to the floor, avoiding her innocent and loving eyes. It was his fault. It was all his fault. He had to make things right.

"Xander, look at me." Hesitating a moment, Xander looked back up at his wife. "We're married now. That's all that matters. This is just another demon. We've survived worse things than this in the past. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine."

Xander looked at her, smiling softly, squeezing her hands in his. Everything was going to be okay. He could feel it. They were together, finally, and nothing could take that away. He didn't know how he ever could have been so stupid in high school... Willow was the perfect woman for him. She always had been. He slipped one of his hands out of hers and brushed some of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear tenderly. "I love you, Willow Rosenberg Harris." He grinned, forgetting about the demon and the mess he had gotten them into for a moment. "God, I love how that sounds."

Willow smiled back, reaching one of her hands up to slide it over his. "And I love you, Xander Rosenberg Harris."

* * *

Xander paused in responding to emails to check on Willow. She was asleep. After the demon appearing in Xander's dreams, he didn't want to risk falling asleep tonight. So he was just keeping watch over Willow, drinking coffee, and doing whatever he could to keep himself awake. Honestly, it wasn't that hard. Fear was better than caffeine. Xander would turn the tv off to make sure Willow didn't wake, but the brightness and the movie was proving to be a good distraction. Answering emails wasn't exactly getting his mind off of his problems.

Besides the facts that Willow was in danger, that Xander was in danger, that there was a scary demon after them, and that it was all his fault, Xander felt guilty for lying to Buffy.

He knew that he shouldn't have lied to Buffy over the phone, but he couldn't tell her the whole truth. There was no way the whole story would have gone over smoothly. Buffy would have killed him for making a deal with a demon – especially the deal he had made. Not to mention she'd tell Willow, and then Willow would never speak to him again. He did the right thing. Hopefully the information he gave Buffy was enough. As long as he stayed awake tonight, they'd be on a flight back to Sunnydale tomorrow, and everything would be fine.

"Everything's going to be fine." Xander said under his breath, reassuring himself.

"Oh, I beg to differ."

Xander jumped, his laptop slipping off of his lap and onto the floor with a crash. There she was, standing in between him and Willow, smirking at him. She looked normal – for now.

How had he fallen asleep? He didn't remember doing it. Xander reached over his chest and pinched his arm as hard as he could. "Wake up," he ordered, pinching himself again. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Don't bother. You aren't asleep, sweetie. You're wide awake."

The color rushed out of Xander's face, and he started to feel nauseous.

"You've seen me in person, Xander. I don't know why you're so surprised. I've only been coming to you in dreams lately because it takes much less effort to do that than to physically come here. But I'm not one to do things halfway…" She glanced down at Willow, and then back to Xander, slowly kneeling down beside the bed.

"What a beautiful bride she makes. She's got that overflow-of-happiness glow about her." She took her eyes from Xander's to look back at Willow again, and she reached out to touch her.

"Don't!" Xander shouted, pushing himself out of his chair. "Don't touch her." He was shaking, but he was trying to stay strong, trying to find some way out of this – to save Willow and himself. With his path to Willow blocked, there wasn't a whole lot he could do. He slowly reached his hand into his pocket, gripping the handle of a small knife he had purchased earlier that afternoon. "Willow! Willow wake up!"

The demon just smiled, laying her hand down on the pillow next to Willow, still gazing at her - almost fondly. "She can't hear you. I've made sure her sleep won't be disturbed. It would be a shame to interrupt her beauty rest, especially when she looks so peaceful."

"Please, please don't do this now. Give me another day. Just let me have one more day with her." At this point, he didn't hate himself one bit for begging. He would do anything to prevent the demon from completing their bargain. Plus, it was serving as a distraction. "I'm begging you. Just let me have this."

The demon's smile disappeared, and her eyes darkened. Suddenly she was in front of Xander, the demon blackness rippling and spreading across her eyes. The skin of her face tightened, her skull lengthening and growing until she barely looked anything like a human. Her face looked hollowed out, emaciated, animalistic. Her lips curled back in a snarl, and Xander fell backwards into his chair, more scared than he had ever been in his life. He watched with wide eyes as her teeth sharpened and grew into fangs, her mouth almost not big enough to hold all of them.

"I have given you more than enough time, boy." Her words didn't sound right, now. "You agreed to this. Remember what I gave you? Remember what you said you'd do anything to get?" She reached her arm backwards, gesturing to Xander's bride.

Tears spilled out of Xander's eyes, and he sobbed, shaking his head. "I take it back. I take it all back! Please, just leave!"

"You're pathetic." She hissed, bringing her arm back to her side. "I thought you loved her. Now you say you don't want her? What kind of a man are you?"

"I do love her. I love her more than anything, but I didn't… I don't…" Xander's throat was tightening with adrenaline and terror, making it hard to speak. "I can't do this. I can't give her up like this! I can't give myself up like this!" With that, he stood, ripped the knife out of his pocket and plunged it into the demon's chest, hoping to God that a knife to the heart would kill it. The demon froze, not even a wince of pain crossing her face.

Slowly, her hand reached up and wrapped around the hilt of the knife. "Well... I'm glad to see you aren't as meek as you seem. However... I can't say the same for your stupidity." She yanked the knife out, throwing it behind her. Blood started trailing outwards from the wound, her shirt absorbing what it could, the rest dripping to the floor. "This body is old, Xander. It's not mine, what should I care what happens to it? Plus, this body won't be around much longer. That's what you're here for."

"No," Xander whispered, shaking his head. "No, please don't."

The demon's hand trailed up Xander's chest to his throat, her fingers wrapping around his neck. Xander shook underneath the rough skin of her fingers, feeling sharp talons at the back of his neck. Her hand pushed him backwards until he was seated again. "It's not forever, dear boy. You still get to have her. Half the time." Xander gripped the arms of the chair as one of her talons pressed into the back of his neck.

"P-please… Don't do this… I change my mind," he choked out beneath her grip, his tears dripping from his chin.

She sneered at him, leaning over him. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

She leaned in closer, her wicked, dark eyes boring into his own, unblinking. Xander couldn't look away. He was frozen. Before Xander's eyes, her skin started to burn away. He could feel the heat from her molten fingers on his neck, scorching his own skin - he registered the pain but was unable to react. Singed bits and pieces of her began to fall from her body, turning to ash before they touched the ground. She was practically on top of him now - her face only inches from his own. The heat from her body was immense - every inch of Xander's body that faced her felt like it was on fire. He could see bone and muscle peeking out from burnt holes in her skin. Her eyelids began to peel back, leaving her black orbs exposed. His stomach turned in his gut, but he still couldn't move.

As more of her skin peeled and burned, Xander started to feel heat rising from inside himself. His body temperature rose rapidly, until it felt like his insides were boiling. She was burning on the outside, and he was burning on the inside. He couldn't think anymore, the pain was too much. His ears rang, his vision blurred, his organs twisted and contorted beneath his skin, and through it all his eyes never left hers. When she opened her mouth again, the spell was broken, and Xander screamed.

* * *

**So this should give you a couple of ideas as to what's going on, but it'll also raise more questions. ^^ The next chapter will answer some of them, and Angelus will finally make a cameo. Stay tuned guys!**

**Review! =D**

**P.S. Thanks so much to the people who reviewed for the last chapter. I'm so glad you guys are still reading! Thanks for sticking around! =)**


	9. Chapter 8: Storm

**WOW this chapter is long! Over 8,000 words, almost 20 pages in Word! I hope this makes up for my long absence! Anyway, like I said, Angelus will be in this chapter. It's been a long time since you've seen him, hasn't it?**

**This chapter is pretty dark. If you don't like dark, be careful reading this.**

**Chapter rating: M**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy characters in this story, or the setting. I DO own the plotline.**

* * *

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Buffy picked up her phone, flipping it open. It was a text from Xander. _just got on the flight. everything's good so far. we should be back home 2night._ Buffy sighed in relief, glad to finally hear from Xander. She had been texting and calling him all morning and had been getting freaked out when there was no answer. Buffy hadn't slept at all last night - she had been too worried about Xander and Willow.

She'd have to talk to him about actually using his phone later. Hopefully she'd get to see Xander and Willow tonight, but if not, she knew she'd see them tomorrow. With Willow back, they could finally get Angel's soul back where it belonged. And with the two of them back home, with Buffy and the rest of the gang, they would be much safer from whatever demon was stalking them.

Buffy checked the time on her phone: 12:45. She had plenty of time to do her errands. She grabbed her purse, her keys, and left the house. She needed to talk to Giles about her phone conversation with Xander. Maybe he'd know what type of demon was chasing Xander. If he didn't, he certainly had the resources for the two of them to search for it.

* * *

The front door swung open, and Giles blinked in surprise at seeing Buffy on his doorstep.

"Buffy. Right. Come in," Giles stepped aside, pulling the door open.

Buffy stepped inside, smiling at the piles of books on every flat surface. Some things never changed.

"Is something wrong? Is this about Angelus?"

Right. Down to business. "No, this is about something else. We have another problem." Buffy slipped off her jacket and folded it over her arm, walking into his living room to sit down on the couch. "It's Xander."

"Oh Lord, is he all right? What's he done now?" Giles sat down across from Buffy, picking up a steaming cup from the table – filled with Earl Grey, Buffy was sure.

"He's got a demon stalker."

Giles raised his eyebrows, taking a sip from the cup. "Really?"

"Yeah. He called and told me about it last night. He sounded terrified over the phone. He said that some female demon has been following him for months."

"Well I'm not too surprised. This is Xander you're talking about. Oh, did you want some tea?" Giles gestured to his kitchen.

Buffy was about to shake her head no, but then decided that some tea might do her good. It tended to calm her down. "Yeah, sure. Tea would be great."

Giles set his cup down on his cup holder and padded over to the kitchen. "So, did he say what kind of demon it was?"

"No. He said she looked normal enough. Brown hair, female, small… And then she attacked him one day. Apparently her eyes can glow or turn black, and she grows fangs. Not vampire fangs, but a mouth-full of sharp teeth. Also, he said she had been entering his dreams."

Giles came back into the living room, handing Buffy a hot cup of tea. "Entering his dreams? Is he sure he hasn't just been having nightmares?"

"He specifically said that she was communicating with him through his dreams."

Giles sat back down, picking his cup up again, frowning. "Glowing black eyes, fangs, dream-walker…" There were a few moments of silence as they both drank their tea, and then Giles sighed. "That doesn't give me much to go on. Did Xander tell you what she wanted? That might help us narrow it down."

Buffy shook her head, "Xander said he didn't know what she wanted. But he did say that she seemed to be getting ready to do something to both him and Willow. He's on a plane back to Los Angeles now. He should be back tonight, tomorrow at the latest."

"Good. The safest place for him is here. Apparently he needs more than Willow to keep an eye on him."

"Seriously." Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. "If he'd told us about this sooner, he wouldn't have a problem."

Giles pushed himself up from his chair once again and strode across the room to one of his bookcases, scanning the books. After going through the first couple shelves, his finger moving from book to book as his eyes read the spines, he grabbed a couple from the shelf. He opened the top one and started flipping through. Then he paused, a thought coming to him, and he glanced over at Buffy. "Buffy, there's something I should tell you…" Giles turned around to face Buffy, leaning back against the bookcase. "I got a phone call a couple weeks ago. It was from a seer. Vadoma I think…"

It took Buffy a minute to figure out how she knew the name. Then Buffy's eyes widened slightly in surprise and recognition. Vadoma was the seer that she had been to only a couple weeks before. "Vadoma? Really?"

"Yes. I didn't want to tell you before, because honestly I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Plus with the wedding and everything… Well, I just didn't want to worry you."

Okay, this was serious. Giles never held anything back from her unless it was big. Buffy pushed herself forward from the couch, looking up at Giles with concern evident on her face. "What is it, Giles?"

"Vadoma, she called to warn me. She said that something was coming, some creature or monster, and that it had to do with you. And then… Well, I think whatever it was she was talking about found her. I heard her and another woman screaming, crashing and breaking noises, and something… growling. Whatever it was that got to them, it was terrible. I don't think they made it."

Buffy sat there in silence, stunned. "That's awful… I know Vadoma. I just saw her a couple of weeks ago. I wanted her… advice on something…" Buffy trailed off, frowning, something coming to mind. "Wait… no, that's not right. I saw Vadoma's assistant at Willow and Xander's reception. Vadoma and her assistant were the only two at that cabin. They can't have died."

"Trust me, Buffy. You must have been mistaken. There is no way they could have survived. Not in one piece, anyway. I heard them dying, Buffy."

"I swear I saw her…" Buffy sat back on the sofa, thinking back on that night to see if there was any way she could've been wrong. "No, Giles I'm sure it was her. I saw her talking to Xander. She looked very alive to me."

"Talking to Xander, are you sure?"

Buffy raised her brows at Giles in an, 'are-you-kidding,' sort of way. "Yes, Giles, I'm sure. When they noticed me they went into another room. Also, she looked completely fine to me – not like she'd just been attacked by a demon. I asked Xander about it later and he seemed really dodgy about it. Said she was one of his coworker's girlfriends. I didn't really believe him though."

The two of them thought about that for a few moments before looking at each other again, an identical thought growing in their minds. Buffy spoke first. "Xander's description of the demon matches the seer's assistant - brown hair, kind of on the small side."

Giles nodded, adding to Buffy's trail of thought. "And if she didn't die that day I got the phone call, that must mean… The only explanation is possession. She's possessed by a demon."

"Great!" Buffy said, grinning. At Giles' skeptical look, she shook her head and began to explain. "That must narrow it down, right? A demon that can possess humans, can get into humans dreams, and grows fangs and black eyes when angry. That has to help!"

"You know," Giles said, turning around quickly to his bookshelf. "I have some volumes of books on demon possession. They are quite large, but at least we're down to a single set of books rather than my entire library." He leaned down and pulled out an armful of large hardbound, old-looking books and dumped them on the table in front of Buffy. Some dust spilled out from between the pages and wafted up in front of Buffy's face.

"Ugh," Buffy said, waving her arm in the air to get rid of some of the dust, "how old are these things? You know, you should really look at making some online database or something. Where you can just type in some keywords and then all the related entries will just pop up."

Giles dumped another armful of books on the table, sitting down again. "Computers are unreliable. What happens when the machine breaks? Then you have nothing. Everything will be gone."

"Yeah, well what happens when there's a fire in a library?" Giles frowned at her above his glasses, picking up one of the volumes. "Besides, that's what backup hard drives are for. And the Internet. If you put the encyclopedia on the Internet, then it'll be there until you decide to delete it."

Giles sighed, obviously annoyed, and picked up a second book, handing it to Buffy. "Are we here to talk about the _amazing_ computer age, or are we here to find out what's going on with Xander's demon?"

Buffy's lower lip extended in a small pout, purposefully to push Giles' buttons just a little bit more, but she grabbed the book. "So we just flip through and see if we find a demon that matches the description?"

"That's the idea, yes. These are in alphabetical order. I have A through C, and you have D through G."

Buffy looked at the two piles of the rest of the volumes and sighed heavily. This was going to be a long day. "Buffy, before we start… I want to make sure you are all right."

The slayer opened up her volume, flipping through to the first listed demon, purposefully avoiding Giles' gaze. She knew why he was asking. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…" Giles paused and took off his glasses, rubbing the lenses with his shirt like he always did when he was nervous or agitated. "With Angelus back… And with what happened at the reception… I wanted to know how you were doing. I'm afraid I haven't been a very good watcher these past few days. I haven't checked in on you."

She had almost forgotten about Angelus until her watcher's question. With Xander's demon and everything suddenly being a big priority, it had been serving as a phenomenal distraction. "Oh don't worry about it. I'm perfectly fine. Peachy even." Buffy glanced up at him and gave him a wide smile, though it disappeared as soon as it came. He knew her too well for her fake smiles to be believable. Buffy bit the inside of her cheek a little, not comfortable thinking about Angelus – not wanting to think about him. "I'm… dealing."

Buffy turned her eyes back to the book. It was the first time in a long time she actually wanted to do research – as long as it meant that Giles would stop asking questions.

"Have you seen him since the reception?"

And there it was. Her mind immediately went where she didn't want it to go – back to the night in the graveyard. Buffy's face grew hot, and she felt a bit nauseous. She did not want to be thinking about that. And there was no way she was going to tell Giles about it. She would take that night to her grave. So… she'd be honest with Giles, she just wouldn't tell him the whole truth.

"Yeah, once, while on patrol."

"What happened? Why didn't you call?" Giles looked very concerned as he slipped his glasses back on.

Buffy waved it off with her hand, shaking her head. "It was no biggie, really, just the usual Angelus banter. I had just staked a vamp when he came out of some crypt. We fought a bit, and then he left."

"Just like that?"

Buffy sat there, quietly for a few moments, trying to keep her emotions in check. She just kept replaying the scene in her head over and over and over… So, instead of going that route… "I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, Giles." Angelus had even called her out on it. At least this bit she could be truthful about. Even though it wouldn't hurt Giles as much as telling him everything, she knew it would still hurt him to hear it. She looked down at the book and started to explain herself.

"It's like high school all over again. I know that this isn't fair to you, especially everything that happened then… But I just can't do it again." Buffy took a shaky breath, trying to make Giles understand. "I killed him once and he came back. I know that's not going to happen twice. I still don't understand how it happened the first time. Even though Angel and I aren't together anymore, he's still the only man I've ever loved. I can't kill him again. It was hard enough the first time, and the only reason I was able to go through with it was because the world was ending. Willow will be back soon and then she can do the spell to bring back Angel's soul, and Angel will be back again. We just need to wait it out. It'll only be another couple of days.

"If you aren't okay with that, and are upset with me, I understand. But please respect my decision."

She looked at Giles, pleading with him with her eyes, hoping that he'd be okay with waiting, hoping that he'd be okay with her weakness. The longest silent seconds of her life passed by, and then Giles nodded slowly.

"Okay. Okay, Buffy. Whatever your decision is, I'll support you."

Buffy was stunned. He would really do that, after everything Angelus did to him? Buffy's vision blurred a bit as tears welled up in her eyes. "Really? You will?" Hearing him say it took a weight off of her shoulders that she hadn't known was there. Even though she knew Giles could never know what else happened in that graveyard, his acceptance of what she had just told him meant the world to her.

"I will. I understand, Buffy. I know this isn't easy for you. Just… let me know what I can do, and I'll try and help in any way I can."

Giles was being so selfless, so kind to her… Buffy didn't deserve it after what she did, but she was so happy to have his support. She slid the book off her lap and onto the sofa, walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her. "Thank you." She said softly into his shoulder. "Thank you so much."

* * *

Many, many hours later, after the sun went down, Giles and Buffy were looking through the last two volumes. Giles was on S-V, and Buffy was on W-Z. "My brain hurts." Buffy muttered under her breath, massaging her temples as she looked at yet another demon entry. None of these were like Xander's description. From what he said, this person had full brain function, full use of the body, and looked/acted completely normal – until she attacked him of course. Most of these demons changed the person physically, or made the person act really strange, or didn't have the added physical attributes Xander described, or didn't have the dream-walking capability.

She flipped the page, for the millionth time, and then paused. The picture showed a really creepy demon. The demon had a mouth-full of large fangs, black eyes, an enlarged skull, talons, and a really tall/lanky looking body. Buffy started reading the description.

"_**Wendigo"**_

"_The Wendigo is commonly known as 'The Cannibal.' This creature used to be human once, before it went mad. The Wendigo can run faster than the human eye can see, its size is well beyond that of a human's, its sense of smell and hearing are immense, and it can see in the dark. This makes it the perfect predator. Even with its skills, the Wendigo is constantly hungry. It looks emaciated and stretched out because its body never gets enough food. The Wendigo's main source of food is humans – its teeth and its claws make it extremely easy to catch and eat its prey."_

Gross, a cannibal? Buffy skipped over a few sections to get to the part about supernatural abilities.

"_Over the years, the Wendigo has adapted and developed strange abilities. Many years after its body changed and deformed from the insanity and the new eating habits, Wendigo became able to project their spirits. They could project themselves into someone's dreams. That was a good way to catch their prey. They could often cause a sort of sleepwalking state in the human, and direct him to their cave through the human's dreams. This led to human possession. _

"_Some Wendigo have more brain function than others – usually ones that have been around for a long time. These Wendigo are able to possess humans. This way, they look normal enough to be able to live around humans. Getting food in this state is simpler._

"_Some Wendigo are able to use dark magick. The older the Wendigo is, the more powerful it becomes. Wendigo can gain the power to manipulate the weather, to summon darkness before the sun goes down, to summon dangerous beasts and control them, to move so fast it becomes close to teleportation, and to heal any wounds instantaneously."_

"Hey Giles… I think I found it." Buffy was extremely worried. This demon sounded very powerful, and very scary. The further she read, the more worried she became.

"What monster is it?" Giles asked, looking up from his book.

"It's called a Wendigo."

Buffy watched as Giles' face immediately paled. He swallowed, closing his book. Giles reached up towards his face, slowly took off his glasses, and started rubbing them furiously on his shirt. "Right…" Oh Lord… If Giles just saying its name could make Giles act like that…

"What? What is it?"

"If that's what's been following Xander, I think I know what it wants. Just be glad Xander's getting home safely. This could be worse." Giles slipped on his glasses, resting his elbows on his knees. "Much, much worse."

This was obviously more serious than Buffy originally thought. She needed to tell Xander as soon as possible. Hopefully they were right about this demon, and with the help of the book they could figure out the best way to deal with it. "Okay, well Xander should be back by now. Let me call him and see if we can meet up so I can tell him about this." Buffy pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Xander's number. After a few rings,

"_Hello?"_

"Xander hey! You're home!"

"_Yeah, we landed in LA a few hours ago. We just got home."_

"Giles and I think we've found what kind of demon has been following you. Do you think you can meet up tonight? I'll bring the book with me."

"_Um, yeah I think I can meet tonight. How about the bar downtown? I could really use a drink – or four." _

There was really only one bar 'downtown.' Sunnydale was definitely a small town. Not to mention the fact that most people didn't stay too long, considering the high mortality rate and the high number of weird 'incidents' that tended to happen.

"Yeah sure. Meet me there in a couple hours?" Buffy needed time to gather up some things, and she was sure Xander and Willow wanted some time to unpack since they just got home.

"_See you there."_

* * *

Buffy slid onto her barstool at the bar, sitting by herself since she got there a bit early. She had the book with the Wendigo entry in her bag, as well as a couple of weapons just in case. She decided it was better to be prepared – for either Angelus or Xander's demon.

"What can I get ya?" The bartender asked, rubbing down a glass with a large rag.

"Um…" Buffy knew that she should get water, or soda, or lemonade, or anything without alcohol, but with the week she'd been having… "Rum and coke, please, more rum than coke."

"You got it." The bartender turned his back to Buffy, grabbing what he needed to make her drink.

Buffy heard the door to the bar swing open, and she turned to see Xander walk in. She gave him a bright smile, and gestured to the barstool next to her. She was so glad he was back in one piece. "Hey! After we order our drinks we can go sit at a table and talk."

Xander nodded, leaning against the bar instead of sitting. "I'll have a Blue Moon." The bartender nodded, reaching under the bar and setting one down on the counter in front of Xander.

Buffy's phone beeped in her purse, signaling a text message, but she ignored it.

"Wow, expensive," Buffy commented as her drink was set down in front of her. Xander was usually a cheap alcohol man. As long as it did the job, he didn't really care what he was drinking. Xander gave Buffy no response. She picked up her own drink and slid off of her barstool, heading towards an empty table in the back. Xander followed. Once she sat down, she pulled out the book and set it down on the table. "Okay, so… no problems coming back here from Hawaii? No demon run-ins?"

Xander shook his head. "No, no problems. Willow seems extra stressed, but that's to be expected I guess." He took a swig of his beer, licking the extra drops from his lips as he set it back down on the table.

"Good! That's good." Buffy brought her own drink to her lips, grimacing only slightly at the heavy taste of alcohol. "So Giles and I think we might have found your demon." She spread her fingers across the cover of the old book, taking a breath. "It's not good, Xander. I don't know how you got involved or why she's after you, but we need to take care of this fast. If we don't get rid of this demon soon, things could get really bad for you and Willow – for all of us."

She paused, looking up at his face, waiting for his reaction. There was none. He was just running his finger along the mouth of his beer, glancing absently at a place behind Buffy's head. "Xander? Are you listening?"

Xander's gaze slowly swung back to Buffy's, familiar lines of anger beginning to form on Xander's face. "Not really." He brought the Blue Moon to his lips again. "Sorry, but I'm a little… distracted."

"Distracted?" Xander and Willow's lives were in danger, and he was distracted? What on earth could be taking his attention away from this? "By what, Xander? What could possibly be more important than the demon who may or may not want to kill you and Willow?"

Xander laughed a little, leaning back in his chair. His eyes moved over Buffy's form, and Xander ran his fingers over his lips, his smile fading. "What is it, Buffy?" Xander asked, a dark look crossing his face.

"What? What is what, Xander?"

Xander looked up at Buffy, his head's downward tilt making his gaze look almost sinister. "What is it about him?"

Buffy was thoroughly confused. "About who? What are you talking about?"

"What is it about Angelus that makes you want to _fuck_ him?"

Buffy's mouth went dry, and she froze, gaping at Xander. She could literally feel the blood flow out of her face. She was completely stunned, and completely speechless. He knew? How did he know? How could he possibly know?

Xander's eyes darkened, and he folded his arms across his chest. "So it's true, then. What Angelus said is true. You fucked him."

Shit. "I… I didn't…"

"Or you let him fuck you, I don't really care which way it was."

Xander had never acted like this to her. Well… almost never. Angelus had always brought out the worst in him, but then… Angelus brought out the worst in everyone. "When did you see Angelus? What did he say to you?"

There was no point in trying to deny it. Xander wouldn't believe her anyway, but more important than that, Buffy didn't want to lie to him. It was one thing to keep a secret, and a whole other thing to lie about it. All Buffy could do was try and pacify Xander enough so that she could explain herself. She just needed to figure out exactly what Angelus said first.

"I saw him on my way here. I left home early so I could get a few drinks down before you showed up. He didn't spare many details." Xander shook his head and a bitter laugh escaped him. "In a graveyard, Buffy? Really? How incredibly kinky of you. How long did it take before you jumped him? Did you have to fight him first to get you hot, or did just seeing him in all his evil glory make you wet?"

"Xander!" Buffy choked out, completely shocked. He had definitely never acted like this before. Ever. "Stop it!"

Xander slammed his hands down on the table, leaning forward towards her. "Why? It's the truth, isn't it? You fucked Angelus, an evil monster, who may I remind you killed Ms. Calendar and tortured Giles. What would Giles say if he knew?"

"No!" Buffy shouted instantly, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth afterwards. Pulling it away a bit, she struggled to keep her voice down. "Xander, you can't! You can't say anything!"

"I think he deserves to know. Actually, I think everyone _needs_ to know. You're playing for the other team now, Buffy. You obviously can't be trusted anymore if you're going to go around and screw our enemies. You'll be turning on us soon."

Buffy leaned forward this time, glaring hatefully at Xander. "You _know_ that's not true, Xander. I love you all. I'm not going to turn on anybody."

"Wrong!" Xander yelled, causing Buffy to jump in surprise. "You already have, you _whore_. You turned on us all the moment you consented to his attentions."

"That's not what happened, Xander!" Buffy retorted, trying to get him to give her enough time to explain herself.

"So he raped you? He forced himself on you? That's not what he said, but I wouldn't put it past him to twist a story." Xander paused and looked Buffy evenly in the eye, pursing his lips before adding, "Did he rape you?"

It would be so easy to just say yes, and have the whole confrontation be over. His attitude would change, and instead of being angry at Buffy he would be furious at Angelus. This was her out. No one would question it – it was not out of Angelus' character, just like Xander said, to twist a story, and it was not out of Angelus' character to do something that terrible.

Buffy took a shaky breath, sliding her hands around to the back of her neck. The lie would be much easier. But even as she opened her mouth to answer, she knew she couldn't do it. Buffy had to own up to this. This was her fault, her bad decision, her terrible mistake, and she couldn't throw it under the rug and pretend it didn't exist, even though she wanted to more than anything. "No, Xander. He didn't."

"I knew it." Xander said, clenching is teeth together in anger.

"Xander, I know that it was completely wrong. It was a mistake. I've been so angry with myself since that night, and you have to know that it will never happen again. Now that you and Willow are back, we can do the spell to get Angel's soul. Everything will be back to normal."

"No, Buffy," Xander spat out, glaring at her, "everything will not just go back to normal. Putting Angel's soul back won't take away what you've done. I won't be able to look at you the same way ever again. You're disgusting."

Buffy could take anger, but she could only take cruelty for so long. "Oh you're one to talk, Xander! Let's take a look at your _perfect_ record. What about the substitute teacher who ended up being a praying mantis, huh? What about getting possessed by a hyena and practically attacking me and Willow? What about doing a spell to make every woman in town infatuated with you? What about-"

"Oh, good for you, Buffy. Bringing out my list of mistakes to make yours look less terrible. Don't make me bring out your past discretions, Buffy. And may I remind you, none of my accidental demon interactions resulted in _death_. Angelus is much worse than all of my demons, and you know it." Xander pushed his chair back and stood up, grabbing his beer. "I'm done with this. I'm done with you," he said coldly, turning his back to Buffy and heading for the bar door.

Buffy grabbed her coat, her purse, and the book, running after him. "Xander!" she yelled, pushing open the bar door and running out into the side street. "Xander, stop!" She grabbed his arm and Xander stopped mid-step. "Look, I know that you're mad at me," Buffy held up the book, "but we need to talk about this. You can be angry at me, and you can avoid me all you want, but we need to talk about your demon first."

Xander yanked his arm from Buffy's grip, grabbed Buffy's shoulders, and slammed Buffy backwards against the wall of the bar. Buffy's eyes widened in surprise at Xander's display of strength, and the book fell from her hand to the ground. "No, Buffy. I don't want to talk to you right now. I can talk to Giles about the demon later, but I am not going to talk to you."

"Xander, the sooner you know about this the better. You're in danger," Buffy said, reaching her hands up to push Xander off of her. Strangely, though, Xander didn't budge. Buffy pushed harder, and Xander's torso only moved a couple inches backwards before returning to the same position. What was going on? Xander's grip on Buffy's shoulders tightened, his fingers digging into her skin, and Buffy squirmed in his grip, trying to push him off again. "Xander, let go, you're hurting me!"

Xander sneered at Buffy, leaning closer to her. "Am I?" Xander lifted his hands from Buffy's shoulders, only to grab her wrists and shove them into the brick next to her head. "Sorry, I just can't seem to be able to control myself." The brick tore into the skin of her hands and wrists as Xander put more weight into his grip, and Buffy gritted her teeth together to keep herself from reacting. She couldn't figure out what was making Xander so strong. Did it have something to do with the demon? Had Willow done a spell to make Xander stronger so he could better protect himself? Did the demon do something to him?

Even though this was out of Xander's character, she had seen that look in his eyes before - when Buffy couldn't kill Angelus, when Xander found out that Angel was back, and when he found out about Buffy and Spike's relationship. This wasn't just anger, this was seething malice, and Xander was never himself at this stage. "Get off of me, Xander, before you do something you regret later."

Buffy gasped as Xander shoved his pelvis against Buffy, his body weight trapping Buffy. "You mean like this? Is this what Angelus does to get you hot?" Xander ground himself against her, and shock ran through Buffy as she felt him begin to grow hard at the contact. "Is this what gets you off?"

"Stop it! Xander get off of me!" Buffy struggled under his grip, tugging her wrists and trying to get her legs free so she could kick him away from her. Xander dropped his head to Buffy's shoulder and she heard him groan against the skin of her neck.

"Oh yeah, Buffy, just like that," Xander growled cruelly, following another grind of his hips with a laugh.

Buffy froze, the scene sickeningly reminding her of what happened in the graveyard. _"Keep wriggling like that, Buff, and you won't get out of this cemetery clothed." _She shuddered at the irony. Xander was trying to replicate what had happened, and he was practically hitting the nail right on the head. Only this was not the same. Xander was being cruel, hurtful, and hateful. Even though she hated herself for what happened with Angelus, at least he hadn't done this. Tears pricked at Buffy's eyes, and she tried to blink them back before Xander could see.

"Is this making you feel better?" Buffy asked softly, trying to keep her voice even.

Xander pulled back, studying her face. He frowned and let one of her wrists go. Buffy thought he was letting her go, but instead his hand came down hard on her cheek. Buffy's head snapped to the side and a couple tears fell from her eyes from the pain.

"Don't you try and guilt me, Buffy. You don't get to do that. You deserve this."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning lit up the sky for a brief second. The air smelled like rain.

He grabbed her hair and tilted her head to face him. "Besides, don't you like this? Haven't you always liked it rough?" Buffy didn't answer, and Xander yanked at her hair in a warning.

"You know the answer to that question, Xander." Buffy struggled to keep herself under control, but she could feel more tears coming up to the surface. Then Xander slammed his lips against hers, and the dam broke. The tears spilled from her eyes, and her body shook with sobs. She reached up with her free hand and clawed at his face, one leg managing to get enough room to shoot up between his legs.

Xander stumbled backwards, crying out in pain, bending over with one hand pressing against his groin to try and relieve the pain. "Bitch," Xander choked out, glaring up at Buffy.

Just then the clouds opened up, and rain began to pour down on the both of them. Buffy forced herself to stand tall, glad that the rain could hide her tears. "Go home, Xander."

He started to straighten, and took a step towards Buffy, but stopped when Buffy held up her hand. "If you come near me, Xander, I swear to God I'll remove your ability to procreate."

He stood there for a few moments, weighing his options, and then stepped away from her. He was seething, she knew, and he was clenching and unclenching his fists in anger. Xander glowered at her for a little while longer before turning and walking away.

Buffy kept her head high until she could no longer see him. As soon as he was out of sight, she fell back against the wall, covering her face with her hands, sobs wracking her body. She was soaked, and it was freezing, but Buffy couldn't go home. She couldn't face anyone like this.

A part of her kept saying over and over that what had happened couldn't have been Xander's fault – that something supernatural was in play. But the other part of her kept thinking that one of her best friends had just attacked her, and that things would never be the same between them ever again.

Buffy slid down the wall, thunder hiding the sounds of her crying. She didn't know what she would do if Xander told everyone what he found out. Images of the hate and judgment on all of their faces ran through her head, and she suddenly felt like she was suffocating. Buffy forced herself to take a deep breath, coughing from the sudden influx of oxygen.

She grabbed the book and stuffed it in her purse, hoping the pages hadn't gotten ruined.

She didn't know how long she sat there in the alleyway - how long she sobbed and cried it all out. All she knew was that she just didn't want to move. She was in pain, and even though most of it was emotional, she felt like she didn't have the strength to get up. She could feel herself start to resort to her safety mechanism. She slowly started to separate herself from everything, taking her pain and shoving it into the far corners of her mind. It was too much for her to handle. She needed to bottle it all up or she wouldn't be able to face any of her friends ever again.

Hiding her pain away was the only way she could deal with this. The blissful numbness would be her savior.

"Aw, Buff, why the sad face?"

Buffy lowered her hands from her face to see Angelus, the last person she wanted to see right now, standing a few feet from her, a smug grin tainting his lips. Rain droplets fell from the wet spikes of his hair to his face, the droplets sliding over his sculpted bones and the sensually cruel slash of his lips. He looked so calm, so unaffected like always. A flash of Buffy jumping up and punching Angelus out for telling Xander ran through her head, but she pushed it away. All Angelus would want would be a reaction. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"I'm not in the mood for you right now, Angelus. If you want to fight, fine. But if you're here for your games and your usual antics, now is not the time. I'm not playing."

Angelus pouted mockingly, walking towards her and dropping to a crouch beside her. She watched as he studied her, knowing insults about her appearance were about to come tumbling from his lips. Honestly, she didn't care. He could do whatever he wanted. She was too numb to care.

"You wound me, lover. And I thought we had made such a connection." Angelus reached out and pushed some wet strands of hair from her face, taking her chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting her face so he could get a better look at her. "Did you get my letter?" he asked with a smirk, knowing full well Buffy had.

Buffy didn't answer him. She just pulled her head from his hand, staring up at him, refusing to show any of the anger or embarrassment his comment was supposed to elicit. Lightning illuminated the both of them for a split second, and Buffy could have sworn she saw concern on his face. After some precious moments of silence, Angelus grasped the sides of her arms and lifted the both of them to their feet.

"Enough sulking, Buff. You need to come with me. Unless you enjoy sitting in wet alleyways looking pathetic."

Buffy just wanted to be left alone in her misery so she could make it all go away. She did not need Angelus right now. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Just leave."

Angelus was silent for a while, just looking down at her. "What happened?" He finally asked, lightly touching a swollen corner of her lips from when Xander hit her.

Buffy choked out a laugh at that. "What are you, my shrink? Don't pretend you care. You're not fooling anyone." She pulled away from him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Now, lover, you know I care. I'm the only one allowed to rough you up."

Though it was meant in a joking manner, Buffy knew there was some truth to his statement. Angelus had always felt a sense of ownership when it came to his victims. She knew that all too well. But she wasn't going to reveal any part of what had happened. One word and all the feelings she had been carefully packing away would rise to the surface.

"You should know I can take care of myself."

Angelus smirked down at her, "Of course." It was meant to be demeaning. Angelus was already two to Buffy's zero in their past two encounters. She was sure he had plans to rip her throat out when he had gotten his fill of her.

Buffy sighed, pushing some hair out of her eyes, the cold of the rain water finally starting to seep into her skin. "I'm going home. Go find something else to occupy your time."

Angelus chuckled darkly and stepped in her path, the space between them miniscule. "I'm sure I could find something else, but nothing is as entertaining as you. Besides… no one else feels quite the way you do, lover." To punctuate that statement, he slid a palm over the rounded curve of her haunches before his hands moved up and tightened painfully around her upper arms.

She winced slightly, bruises already beginning to form from Xander's tight grip from earlier.

"But if that's the way you want to play this," he said, a brighter tone to his voice, before wrapping his arms around her body and hoisting her over his shoulder. "We can just do it the hard way. You're coming with me Buff, it wasn't a question."

Buffy gaped, completely astounded at what had just happened. She hadn't been flung over someone's shoulder since she was a little girl. She pressed her hands and elbows into his back to keep herself from hanging from his shoulder. "Okay, very funny, now put me down."

Angelus turned on his heel and started walking away from the bar, his arm around her knees tightening. She could feel the muscles in his back moving and rippling under her hands, and she forced back memories of the night in the graveyard. "I don't think so, Buff. I kind of like you like this." His free hand traveled up and down one of her thighs and he landed a playful smack on her ass.

A surge of anger ran through her, and Buffy pushed herself up and slammed her elbow into his head. "Put me down, Angelus!"

A growl of pain escaped his lips, and he slid her down and very ungracefully dropped her to the ground. Water splashed all around her as she hit the pavement, and Buffy slowly pushed herself to her feet. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" she hissed angrily.

"Come on, Buff, you know why. We've been through this already." Thunder rumbled in the distance, the rain lightening up to a simple rainy night rather than a pouring storm. "Besides, we both know you're going to come crawling back to me, anyway. You just can't say no, baby."

Buffy pursed her lips, glaring up at him. It was almost a challenge. "Watch me," she said coolly. With that, she turned and started walking away.

Angelus wasn't good for her. He was evil, and the only thing he wanted was to mess with her as much as possible. Buffy wouldn't let herself succumb to him again. She would talk to Willow when she got home and return Angel's soul, and then she wouldn't have to worry anymore. If she had to stay away from him until the spell was cast, then so be it. After what happened with Xander, she knew that she couldn't let herself let her guard down. If she had even a moment of weakness around Angelus, he would exploit it and Buffy could end up back where she was only a few nights ago.

She heard Angelus laugh from behind her. "You keep walking away from me, lover. I think you have a fear of commitment."

Always the joker, she mused, the mocking tone that was always present in his voice ringing clear through the rain. She didn't appease him with a response. She didn't turn back to look at him. She just kept walking. After a few more steps, Buffy could've sworn she heard, "She'll come back…"

Buffy remembered that her phone beeped earlier, and she pulled it out of her purse. It was a text from Willow.

_Buffy, don't meet up with Xander. I couldn't tell you earlier cuz Xander was here. Something is wrong with him. I think the demon got to him. He might be dangerous. Call me!_

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**Thank you so much to those who've reviewed for the past few chapters. I love hearing from you guys! Welcome to all the newcomers to my story, and a big hug to those who've stuck around from the beginning.**

**I hope you enjoyed part eight. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and I'll see you in part 9!**

**Review, my lovies!**

**~Reiney**


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